Love Your Church!!

You know as I sit in my office today and think about the last few weeks of ministry. I think of the hustle and bustle of getting things done. I think about our Children's ministry on the 7th of December. I think about our Contatta last week, and I think about our services yesterday. I am completely overwhelmed by the things that God is doing. What a great job Charlotte does with our kids!! What a great, dedicated, choir we have. Many churches across the country do not have the resourses to even have a choir. Joyce really works hard at pulling them together. I am so thankful for these two, and their leadership and direction. If you agree take time to thank them in a quick note this week!!

I have been doing youth ministry for 12 years now and I can see God doing great things in the lives of our young people. I have been here at Gospel Tabernacle for 7 years this February!! I have seen God do great things in our church as well. We have some Great... I mean Great people that attend this church. Most of which are involved in ministry. These are the people that make the church what it is. The church not only takes on the personality of the Pastor and staff, but also the people that are doing ministry.

This Holiday season I am so proud of each one that has worked so hard this year to make this chruch (Gospel Tabernacle) Great!! God's Kingdom is advancing in this area! He is faithful and He has a perfect plan for this church. I love our church.... Can you say that you do as well?? If not, get involved, forgive those that have wronged you and move forward into ministry. Encourage those in leadership to move forward in advance!! Remember, it is not about us, it's about how He wants to use us to see His will done and the Kingdom pressing forward this coming year!! Will you do your part along side of us?? I trust that you are already and you will continue!

Blessings,
Pastor Carl

I Am Soooooo Ready for Christmas....

I can hardly believe that another year is gone and this Christmas day 2008 is upon us. When I think about Christmas I think of all of the fun things that we do, some together and some by ourselves.

It can be crazy around black Friday and you had better stand clear or you could get run over and even hurt badly when the doors open. Or you can be like me... I ran to Wal-Mart last night to shop for my precious wifey!! I had no clue what I was after, but I got the job done. I think that she will be very happy this year! I cannot tell you what I got her yet for fear that she will find out! I do think that she will be suprised and happy though. Her joy helps me to be encouraged, and my kids on Christmas morning are amazing! I love to see their joy as they open their gifts from us. I really believe in the reason for this season in our lives and our kids know that these gifts are for them from us and we are celebrating the birth of the greatest Man to ever walk the earth. He is the one that has changed everything!

I downloaded the Christmas album by Faith Hill this year and the song that struck me was "A Baby Changes Everything." You can see a video of it here. This song moves me! There is so much truth here that I wish people would stop and hear the message this Christmas!! He has changed my "everything" in my life and I am so grateful for that truth that has changed me.

This Christmas before my family opens their gifts we will take time to make sure that our kids know the WHY of this great season. I pray that you will do the same. Don't leave the greatest gift out of your family's Christmas!! He is so near and so precious to us.

Blessings,
Pastor Carl

No internet for you!

I sit here in my office this morning with tons to do but no internet service to work with! I have upgraded our service to a higher speed but they shut us off until they can switch it over. They said that they will have it done by Monday!! One of my first questions was will there be any downtime?? O, absolutely not sir, you should be able to plug your new modem in and be fine! Well, not so in this case! They have to send a tech into town to do the switchover! And here we wait! O, well! We will wait..... and wait.............. that's all we can do for now!

Just Thinkin'

We just finished up with a funeral for our friend and fellow pastor, Rev. Chester Tennant. What a time of celebration for this man's life. He was a great man of God and leader in our community and our church. What a legacy he has left his wife and family. Anyone who has ever know Pastor Chet would tell you that he was a great guy who loved God and loved people. He was a pastor for many years in West Virginia, Virginia and Pennsylvania. His kids are living out his legacy. One of which currently pastors a church that his dad pioneered!! I write this with the anticipation that one day I can sit by him in heaven... more likely we will be running around and kicking and shouting praises! He was filled with the Holy Spirit and really let people know what a spirit filled life was all about. I am trusting God for just a small measure of Chet's faith and fire!! His boldness was contagious, as was his love and kindness. What a great guy, I am glad that I had the opportunity to know such a great man! God find favor on him and comfort this amazing family through their time of loss!!

Blessings,
Pastor Carl

I Know The Suspense is Killing You!!

This is the part where I tell the story of how I killed the Biggest Buck of My Life!!!

It was a very cold (37 degrees) Monday afternoon. November 10th, which just happens to be one of the best days of the year to kill a good buck (according to the experts- druryoutdoors.com). Anyway as I pull onto the road that leads to the parking area where I enter the woods, I look up to see a very nice buck pushing a doe across a backyard!! I immediately thought... come back here cross back over the road to my stand area!! Please!!! I got parked and it was about 2:40pm. I should have been in the woods already but I couldn't get out of the office any faster. I pulled my bow from the truck and quickly noticed that my 20 yrd. pin was messed up! I looked at it closer to see that the fiber light gathering element was shattered. I drew it back and determined that the deer would have to be close and there would have to be enough light to be able to shoot. I was a little bothered by it but what else could I do?

I made my way to the tree that I had climbed several times this season with it in my mind that I was going to move to a new tree down on a flat where I had been seeing deer moving through. As I approached the tree that I had climbed many times before I heard that sound that every hunter hates when walking to the stand. I quickly crouched down only to see a large doe, tail up, waiving at me as she ran down the point! Immediately behind her was a large buck at least an 8 pointer and then behind him was another smaller 8!! I stood there in amazement as I watched them disappear down the ridge line. The woods quickly became quiet again. I thought please, please come back later!! They didn't seem too spooked and you never know what will happen when the rut is on!!

I quickly headed past the old stand location to the first flat that I came to. I had seen several deer here in the past working out to the point where the deer just ran to. With fear of pushing out more deer I began setting up there. I noticed a scrape on the ground about 15 yards away and by the musty stink of rutting buck in the air I quickly recognized that a big buck recently worked it! I also noticed several rubs all around me.

I quickly and quietly climbed as high as I could, probably 25 feet or so. My Summit tree stand will climb just about any tree I want and just about as high as I have pull rope for. I got settled in just a few minutes and sat down in my comfy stand.

Not more than 15 minutes passed when I heard the sound that makes every deer hunter's skin stand up on the back of their neck. Running... through the leaves coming to me! I quickly grabbed by bow as I stood to my feet. I watched as two doe ran in to where I was and began to feed. I thought it somewhat strange that they ran in, and they bedded 50 yrds from me within a few minutes. I watched them for a while and then sat down again. This time for only about 5 minutes before I heard the sound again. Only this time it came from directly behind me. It was close and I didn't dare move until I saw it.

The deer got closer and closer till it was directly underneath my tree. I struggled to bend my neck to be able to see it, and as I got the first glimpse of it I saw that it was a gnarly little seven pointer. He worked his way out to where the doe were and nudged them in the butt to get them up only after he rubbed a nearby tree! It was pretty cool watching him work. From that point on it was one buck after another. I saw three more small bucks come up from the bottom and they sniffed around where the does were laying. Then a pretty decent shooter 8 pointer came and started really pushing the one doe around. They came within 20 yards and I almost drew up on him but he was moving too fast. He then chased her into the bottom out of sight. I thought wow that was close!

I then pulled out my grunt call and this is when it got really interesting. I let out a series of grunts on that call and immediately two more bucks came out of the bottom heading my direction. One was a pretty nice 8 pointer that anyone would shoot around here. He got about 50 yards and started sniffing around where those does were and he got hung up. I let out a couple more grunts and he headed right to me. He was crossing about 15 yards in front of me when I raised my Hoyt to draw up on him, it was perfect! Just as I started to put pressure on the string I heard walking off to my right coming down the ridge!

I turned my head trying not to lose focus on my target when I saw him. It was a GIANT coming right at me. I quickly repositioned my body for the shot. I had to turn all the way to the right as he was going to pass directly under my stand but behind me slightly. I drew up on him and bleated softly with my mouth to try to stop him. He stopped after taking three more steps, right behind a large tree. I couldn't shoot, I even leaned out to try to see if I could see the vitals but no dice. He began walking again, and I had to spin all the way around the tree to the other side. He stopped again literally at 3 yards. I ran the pin down his back to the vitals and eased pressure onto the trigger of my release. WHACK, the arrow hit exactly where the pin was on him. He ran a little and quickly slowed and stopped. I thought in my mind, go down big boy!! That's when I saw his body collapse backward into a pile and I began the victory dance in the tree! He was the biggest buck that I have ever killed and possibly the largest deer that I have ever had a chance to kill! What a memorable day it was! I can't wait to get the mount back and celebrate some more that amazing day... November 10, 2008 4:45 pm!!

Thanks for reading, leave comments if you like!
Pastor Carl Redding

Random Thoughs from a YP!!

So with President elect Barack Obama waiting in the wings, assembling his cabinet and moving his personal items into one of the most historic buildings in America, what is next for us Christian Americans?? We must not lose our focus as Christians. This is the primary truth that we must remember even if we were receiving the greatest Christian man or woman into the most powerful role in the world. We would not discontinue prayer for this person as we should not fail to pray for President Obama. We all find things to complain about, we all have issues, and we are all different in how we deal with things. Remember this country through the Clinton years. We impeached this president and yet our country remained strong. We went through 8 years with G.W. Bush who had some interesting ideas but was strong with the things he believed in including war! All of this talk about Obama being the anti-christ seems pretty unfounded to me! I highly doubt that this person would arise out of such a high role as the president of the United States.

I guess what I am saying is that OUR Country needs us Christians. This is our country!! I trust that you did your part to vote. Now our part is to support in whatever ways we can. We can all pray, and that is fundamental, but we must be reminded of this. We can all access our congressmen and women. They need to hear our voices. Call them and e-mail them, they listen to our voice. Be encouraging to them, do your part.

This is a new time in American History, we must bind together and we must be strong. Our strength will be powerful in numbers. The worst thing that we could do is live in discouragement and hide our faces because we didn't get what we wanted. That would be a shame. This is America, the Greatest Country in the world.... God Bless this land!!!

Watch this video from our General Superintendent Dr. George Wood

Blessings,
Pastor Carl

Give Thanks!

I love this time of year when we get to do lots of things that we love. Hunting with friends is always high on my priority list this time of year! Hanging out with my family is something that I look forward to as well. We always head north to my sister's house in Prattsburg, NY. We enjoy our time traveling in the van, then as we arrive it is always exciting to spend time with our loved ones. They mean so much to us and we so look forward to seeing them each year. We spend a lot of time eating and talking and eating more!! I guess that when we think about it food, almost always, goes along with a good time! Corn, Mashed Potatoes, Green beans, Stuffing, Bread, Gravy, Turkey... mmmm... thank God for Turkey, and Mom's Apple Pie! The best apple pie in the world. O, sorry I forgot where I was.

The founders of our great country knew what they were doing by breaking bread together and giving thanks to our God in heaven who is responsible for the abundant blessings that He has chosen for each one of us!! Certainly we should give thanks on that great thanksgiving holiday, but what about the rest of the year... Ephesians says something about this: Eph. 5:19,20 tells Christians to "Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, ALWAYS giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."

See, it is not a once a year and done kind of thing. Our joy and strength comes from Him. He meets every need that we have. Sometimes we struggle and sometimes we prosper. Give Him thanks no matter what. It is hard sometimes, but He will bring us through to the other side! Thanks for giveing thanks in your life. Our God is worthy of it all!!

God Bless,
Pastor Carl

Men's Conference

Christian Life Assembly-Camp Hill, PA
Last night we heard a powerful message from Dary Northrop from Timberline Church in Colorodo!!
His message was simple yet so very powerful. He challenged us to 1. Take a risk and he referenced the book of Acts and the straight street account in chapter 9:10-16 where God spoke to Ananias to go to straight street to meet Saul there to pray for healing for him! What a risk taker!!
He also challenged us to be truthful and not to live our lives as a lie!! Also, to live a life of vision, and finally to live in acceptance of people. Just like Barnabas in verse 29 of that same Acts chapter. What a powerful time in the Lord!! He is so good to us and I am thankful for His challenging Word!!

Blessings,
Pastor Carl

Honorbound Men's Conference

This weekend is our annual Honorbound Men's Conference in Camp Hill, PA. This event is really exciting to me!! I love just listening as 1200-1500 men worship our creator all in one accord. It is truly powerful to see and to take part in. The speakers are always spectacular and there is such depth and richness to the ministry that takes place. The anointing of the Holy Spirit is so very powerful! What a great ministry to our men that our district puts forth! What an amazing, uplifting weekend this will be for our men!! Pray for us as we travel and attend the different workshop sessions and events. See the Shedule and Speakers here!

God bless you all!
Pastor Carl

Hunting the Deer!

As many of you know one of my passions in this world is hunting deer. I love waking early on the crisp fall mornings where the heavy dew is frozen to the leaves. I enjoy climbing into my stand with my bow and arrow ready to wait it out until one comes by. This kind of anticipation motivates me each year as the bow season approaches. It is as if I live for the moment when I hear the release click opened and the smack of the arrow placed neatly into the vitals makes me shake in my boots. I do love those moments, especially when my pin settles in on a nice big buck. All of this talk of passion and excitement is great isn't it?? But infinitely greater is my passion to see young people saved and transformed by God's grace and power. That excites me so much that I live for seeing these young lives come and make new and fresh commitments to Him. As great as my passion is for taking a great whitetail, my passion for seeing lives changed far exceeds this. I am committed to God's plan for using me in this ministry. Will I have obstacles come up? Sure I will and I have. I cannot even tell you about some of the things that I have had to endure in our 11 years in youth ministry. We move forward because this is what God would want from us. What would King David's life have looked like if he would have just quit because someone came against him?? He never quit and neither should you or I! His plan is far greater than anyone or anything in our way. He calls, He directs, He leads!

As a teenager planning on attending Bible college God placed this thought in my mind. One day in prayer the Holy Spirit spoke to me and said this: "if I spend my entire life in youth ministry and just one student's life is changed by God through my ministry, then the entire voyage will have been worth it!" Thank God for that one!!! Thank God for each one that gets it! Amen!!

Pastor Carl

See You At The Pole

I can't tell you how excited I am about writing this post. It has been a while since I last wrote and what an amazing couple of weeks we have had as a family and as a youth pastor!

See you at the pole is an event that takes place each year on our local high school campuses. Millions of young people gather at their flag poles to pray. It is an exciting event where students encourage others and are encouraged by others. Here is a link to a video that I made from Waynesburg Cental's SYATP. After SYATP we have a post pole rally at our church and each year I encourage our students to bring their friends out. This year I had Jenessa Wrick speak and Megan Fox sang a powerful song. It was a great experience for all that attended. I had give aways and hot wings after the event was over. We had at least 30 students that came to the altar for rededication. I was really encouraged and the students are excited about what happened and this current school year.

Also, to go along with this, a few weeks ago we signed up 25 students to be campus missionaries to their schools. This means that they are commited to the Youth Alive code which is to: Pray, Live, Tell, Serve and Give. It is a powerful time to be in Youth Ministry and our students are reaching their friends for Christ. That excites me!!! Please pray for our students as this is a true battleground that the enemy does not want to relinquish.

Thanks,
Pastor Carl

Our Vacation!

I figured that since we will be getting on the ship tomorrow that I should post a blog tonight. I don't know what kind of internet they will have there if any!

We had a great time at the beach today in Fort Lauderdale. We went to the beach around 11 am and stayed till around 2 then came back to the hotel and swam the afternoon away. We are a little sunned but had a great time. We had a visitor by our pool this afternoon, a small Iguana stopped by to say hi. Of course Megan wanted to catch it, but it just ran away. I snapped a quick pic before it was completely gone though. We are already having a great time just being together and we are looking forward to the week on the ship! I am sure glad that God has made a way for us to be able to take a vacation like this. We love spending time together and are thankful whenever we can get away!

blessings,
Pastor Carl

Vacation Time!!

We are currently sitting in Pittsburgh International waiting to board our plane. It is always refreshing to get away for a time and re-energize!! We have been looking forward to this vacation all summer and it is finally here. We have done so many things this summer and are certainly thankful for all that God has blessed us with. I am so glad to be a part of His Kingdom and there are times when I wonder why He blesses us so much, but I know that when we trust in Him and what He has for us it is a wonderful place to be!! I am so very excited about our events coming up, but I know that the next seven days will be relaxation time, doing nothing time, laying on the beach time! I may or may not blog through this time. This may just be a do nothing vacation, that we will talk about or blog about when we get home!! Thanks for praying for us this summer and we love and appreciate all of our friends for holding us up!!

Blessings,

Pastor Carl

More Vista/Apple Trouble!

I fought for a couple of hours yesterday because I tried to download the newest version of iTunes. Yep that's all just iTunes. I use iTunes to keep my music in some kind of order and to play things when I want them! I like the interface and the usability of the software, I am not into the limited playablity (drm) but that is another blog. Anyway, I downloaded the new version and then when it was finished it prompted me for a computer reboot. I thought it suspicious at the time but a lot of software needs reboot when updated so I let it go. I then worked on something else for a minute then went back to my desktop to see where I was at. I tried to start iTunes again and got the same reboot prompt. I then knew that there was an issue. I then noticed that my network connection had been terminated. I thought that it was absolutely crazy!! I proceeded to work for about an hour and finally did a system restore. After that didn't work I then took it back to two days prior!! After that my network came back but itunes was shot. I immediately went online to see if others had experienced the same issues. Sure enough they had. Vista has been leading the way with incompatibilities, but I think that Apple dropped the ball on this one. So anyway after researching a bit I discovered the fix for the problem. Here it is in order!! Be careful that you follow directions as you can make major changes in regedit:

For those interested, this is how to fix this:

go to start menu --> run (or window key + r)
type regedit, press enter
go to computer/hkey_classes_root/
find pcast and right click it
click permissions
during the course of this you may get a message saying you cant change anything, but you can change who can change things. click ok on it (possibly more that once).
click advanced, then owner tab
change the owner from administrator to whatever name you are using
click ok twice to get out of the pop-ups completely
right click pcast again
click permissions
click OWNER RIGHTS
by full control and read click the allow boxes.
click ok

There are some cool new features in iTunes... for what it's worth!!!

Let me know if this helped you by commenting on this one... maybe I can save someone a headache and hours of work!!

Blessings,
Pastor Carl

The Fruit of Our Labor!

Mark 4:13-20
13Then Jesus said to them, "Don't you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? 14The farmer sows the word. 15Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. 16Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. 17But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 18Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; 19but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. 20Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown."

It is really amazing when I see students that really get the Word of God. Over the past 5 weeks we have seen 7 students in our youth ministry receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit, and still more seeking Him. That's exciting, especially with the world and our country in the state that they are in. I feel sometimes like I am sowing seed along the path or in the rocky places or even among the thorns. But, I have to remember that God is the one who reaps the harvest not me. It is not about me or my desires, but rather what He desires to do in someone's life. They have to be receptive and they have to desire the deeper things of God. When they realize this, God is just waiting to pour out His blessings on their lives.

Is there a greater way to start a school year than to be baptized in fire? I think not... You go guys/girls... just go!! They all inspire me, and for those that are seeking, seek diligently and you will be rewarded. Be opened to receiving The Holy Spirit and it is only a matter of time until He baptizes you with His tongues of fire!! Be ready though because He will change your life. Live in the Spirit... In His power... You will do Great things in Him!

Blessings,
Pastor Carl

The Power of Pressing Through To God

This blog is about us and our own human behavior. We have been challenged through the past two services in not leaving the altar without getting through to God. We are often held back by our own selfish ambitions. We have to give everything up to God. It is kind of unpopular in today's church world when we start talking about taking time to commit to God. It is essential for us to take whatever time we need to when it comes to us seeking God. We have learned that God wants to bless us but sometimes we have to wait on His timing. This advance is so enlightening in that I have realized that sometimes it takes more time than we think it might when it comes to us drawing nearer to God. Sometimes we need to give up things in our lives to allow God to work in a deeper and more intimate way. He is so good and loves us so much, it blows my mind! I am heading to bed for a short nap now, it is back up at 7am.

Blessings,
Pastor Carl - Carlisle, PA

Robots Are The Now!!

With robot technologies getting better and better as the days progress you will be influence by the technologies that come out of these interesting devices. Your back-up sensors on your car, for example, have come out of this technology. There are a lot of others as well. I wouldn't mind having a robot cleaning my house when I came home from a long day's work. The new models can actually learn how to do new tasks and are easily programmable. You have surely seen the kids toys that learn tasks as kids teach them new things. Awesome technology that is advancing every day!! There are many things today that we don't understand how they work and yet we put our lives in their hands. Take a look at the computer system in your car for just one example. When we bought our minivan a couple years ago the salesman told us that there was more technology in it than the first space shuttle. Wow, that amazed me! We trust the things that we don't see or know anything about everyday of our lives... and yet so many people refuse to have faith in our God who loves us!! What a shame! We press on though, and share with whoever will listen!
Links: http://www.coolest-gadgets.com/category/robot-gadgets/
http://people.csail.mit.edu/edsinger/domo.htm


Blessings,

Pastor Carl

What a Sunday Night!!

Tonight I was so very proud of our students. Our Nicaragua missions team ministered in the PM service and they were all awesome!! We started out with Tim Bennett leading worship with a couple of songs in Spanish. I then had Dylan Harvey share his rap solo that he went to nationals with. He did a wonderful job! I held a conversation style interview with all of the students in a semi-circle discussing the ministry that we did in Nicaragua. I basically worked through the schedule that we received when we got there. I put together two different videos that went together great for the night. All of the students spoke and we had laughing and crying and praising throughout the night. We finished the night with an altar call and had the students pray for our people. They all went after God and interceded for people around the altar. I believe that many were blessed around the altar. Some of the students really stepped out in faith and I was so proud of each of them. Some other youth that were not part of the missions team got involved as well. I love our students. One of the highlights for the night was when they all came up on the platform and prayed for me at the same time. It was incredibly powerful! I am always moved by students praying for me, it is so encouraging. What a night filled with joy and tears and God moving at the end of it all!! How Great Is Our God!!
If you missed it all we have it recorded, contact the church office to get your copy of it all. Or e-mail me!

Blessings,
Pastor Carl

I Love Her!!

This blog is solely dedicated to my amazing wife Andrea. She has been married to me for 14 years now!! That is incredible when you think about all the junk that I have mustered up for her to deal with!! She is the greatest woman I have ever met. She loves and mothers our kids and she takes care of me. I am so proud of all that she does to help me in the ministry. No would would ever know the countless hours that she spends doing "church" stuff and youth stuff. She never complains about it either. She is a role model and I am so very blessed that I have her help in every situation that arises. I hope as we grow older together that we can maintain the love and respect that has grown us closer together over the years of this marriage. I pray that she will stay close to God and help me to lead our daughters in the faith. We need His strength to carry us, as we often get weary from the well doings of the church. If you would like to encourage her, send her an e-mail at aredding4@hotmail.com and let her know that you appreciate her!

Blessings,
Pastor Carl

Wrap Me In Your Arms

It seems to me that there times in our lives and ministries when we need God to wrap us up in his arms. It is a wonderful place of love and comfort. I often find myself seeking that place of refuge to let God deal with some specific things in my life! Sometimes I lose focus and He has to pull me back in! I must remember that it is not about man or what someone says, but about what He wants to do! We all must be focused on Him and He will direct our paths!
Blessings,
Pastor Carl

Day 5: NFAF

Today was the final day of our journey here in Charlotte. It was a good day, as we didn't really do a whole lot. The students enjoyed their last day at the theme park and several others just hung out at the pool here at the campgrounds. We left here to go down town at 5:30 to take part in the celebration service at Bobcat Arena. It was a good time as we listened to the winners of the various categories get announced and then perform on the stage. It was great to see student leaders ministering through their abilities. Our students were encouraged by the whole experience. I trust God that the services and the events will permeate the hearts of these young people. I am trusting Him for long lasting results and life changing power for these lives. I hope that each one of us understand that we need more of Him and when we seek Him we will find Him and what He has for us. It is about us taking our eyes off of ourselves and fixing our eyes on Him.

We will be home sometime between 5 and 7 pm tomorrow! Thanks for all of your prayers!

Blessings,
Pastor Carl
Charlotte, NC

Day 4: NFAF

Today was a tremendous day for our youth ministry and for our own personal lives. We just returned from a service that was absolutely life altering!! Rick Lorimer spoke tonight after the Planetshakers led us into worship. What a night!! There were several that were baptized in the Holy Spirit tonight! I am still trying to figure out everyone that was, because after the service it is always chaos!! God stirred many hearts tonight and they will never be the same again.

Our youth choir sang this afternoon and they did a very nice job. You can image how intimidating it is to be standing in front of such a large audience. Their song filled the room we were in and I was very proud of each one of them. They received a superior rating of 34 points out of a possible 40. That is very respectable especially at this level of competition.

Sooo... I am off to bed, I need to rest as we have been running all day long. I will write again tomorrow. God bless you all!

Pastor Carl
Charlotte, NC

Day Three: NFAF

Today we started in the water park with my kids at 10:00am. We had a blast it is really a nice water park and amusement park. If you are ever down this way it is worth checking out. It is called Carowinds. We left the park at noon to come back and eat lunch. We left here at 3:30 to take Dylan Harvey to the convention center for his rap solo. In the meantime Joy Mason called and she was somewhat frantic as she missed her connecting flight to here and was in Atlanta. She was due in here at 4:30. She ran around and made arrangements to be on another flight that was due in at 6:30. We were glad that she was able to do that, God worked it out for her. That doesn't mean that it wasn't stressful for her though, we are so thankful that she was willing to come and play for us!! What a blessing she and Dave are to this ministry and to our church. We arrived at the convention center and Dylan did his thing. He was amazing!! We thought that he really did a great job. Then I ran everybody back here to the camp to go back over to the park if they wanted to. I ran to the airport to get Joy and Alexis, and then brought them back here to check in to the hotel. It was a busy day! I am kinda glad that we didn't have a service tonight as it would have been impossible to get everything done.

We just learned a short time ago that Dylan got a superior rating and will not be chosen among the "Elite" rappers of the Assemblies of God. He did his best and that's what matters to God.

The choir is on at 2pm tomorrow! Pray that we are able to do our best for his kingdom!!

Blessings,
Pastor Carl
Charlotte, NC

Day Two: NFAF

Today was a great day! We started out by going swimming in the pool at the campground and then we all ate lunch together. After lunch we went to the waterpark. What a blast that was as we hung out together. The temperature got to a little over 100 degrees here today. It was so hot!! We left here at 5 pm to head to the service. We were able to get the first two rows of the second section on the floor. It was incredible. Planetshakers are an unbelievable worship team!
Worship was extended as young people got fired up for God and the moving of His Holy Spirit. There was one time when it got really quiet in the whole place and you could sense the Spirit moving. Spontaneous worship just started to spread throughout the auditorium. It was incredible. I was happy to see our young people being extremely expressive in their worship. Rod Whitlock spoke and challenged everyone to really dig deeper and get closer to God. Then... We worshiped some more!! It was a great day and a great night.

Dylan Harvey performs at 4:46 tomorrow pray that God will help him and be with him. Thank you all so much for your prayers and support. You mean so much to us!

Blessings,
Pastor Carl
Charlotte, NC

Blurb!

I almost forgot to tell you all! You can view the services live along with us if you would like, beginning at 7 pm each night except for Wednesday when there is no service. http://www.charlotte08.ag.org/live/ I will update you all as the week progresses!!

Blessings,
PC

Monday Night, National Fine Arts Festival!! (FAF)

Well we made it. It took substantially longer than I thought it would, but after 4 stops and 8 hours we made it to Charlotte, NC. After a slight ant problem in one of our cabins we are settled in and hopefully in bed for the night. We had a great opening service tonight, Steve Pulis (National Student Outreach director) spoke about the fire of God! It was very good. Almost all of our students responded in some way to the altar call. Planetshakers was amazing. They played one of my all time favorites: Healer! It just flat out is anointed by God. We stopped at Chick-Fil-A for dinner after the service and had an enjoyable dinner! Thanks for praying for us, pray specifically that some of these students will go deeper with God this week.

Blessings,
Pastor Carl
Charlotte, NC

Ready To Go Again!

Well, it is now Sunday night and I am ready to go again. We will be leaving tomorrow for National Fine Arts Festival in Charlotte, NC. We are really excited about the opportunity to take 30 people on this trip. We will be taking our children with us and we will be camping at a campground. It will be a lot of fun. Our students will be staying in cabins and we will be in our pop-up camper. I am looking forward to the services and also Worshiping with Planetshakers. They were amazing last year in Indy. We will also be close to Carowinds amusement park. Dylan Harvey will be competing on Wednesday at some point and the youth choir will be on Thursday. I am really proud and excited about our 19 students that made it to this level. I have seen a lot of students that have been very good not make it to nationals. They are all excited with me and I am trusting God to do a work in each of their lives. Pray for us once again as we travel. Thank-you so much!!

Blessings,
Pastor Carl

In The Airport!

We are sitting here in the Managau airport waiting for our plane to arrive and I figured I would blog quick.

Wow I cannot tell you what an experience this trip was. We were so very blessed by all of the things that God did in us and the people here. We are so looking forward to being home and sharing with all of you. We will be ministering int he PM service on the 17th of August. Please plan on being there with us as we share from our hearts what God did here. So many stories to share with you all. God bless you and thanks again for all of your prayers!

Blessings,
Pastor Carl

We Are Coming Home!!

Today we will leave Nicaragua but Nicaragua will never leave our hearts.

Last night was another powerful time in the presence of our God. He helped us minister to thousands of people. 10 more gave their hearts to the Lord and too many to count came forward for prayer. It was absolutely amazing. We will leave here today knowing that God has given us a burden for these people. Yes, we are tired and ready to come home, we definitely miss our families, but our hearts burn for more people to come to the realization of who Christ is and the manifestations of His Holy Spirit.

Pray for us as we travel today. God is so very good and so very faithful. Thank you all so much for your continued prayer and support!

Blessings,
Pastor Carl
Managua, Nicaragua
Final Post

Wednesday again!!

We made it back to the hotel after a great day so far. We went back to the church that we were at last night and ministered to the kids at their school. They were great. We did a 20 min. program and then had a Pinata for them to smash. It was a lot of fun and the kids were really blessed. From there we hit the road toward the area that we would be zip lining. We arrived there and they loaded us into trucks and took us up a steep hill. We were in the jungle for real!! There were coffee trees/ bushes all around us! It was spectacular. We got harnessed up and had an instruction session and then began our 13 platform journey! Basically there was a hook that went over top of the cable and attached to the belt that we were wearing. Then there was a safety harness attached at all times as well. We wore some heavy gloves and hung from a line. All that you had to do was pick up your feet and away you went over top of the trees and bushes. It was unbelievable. I have tons of video and pictures to prove that we actually did it!!

Now we are relaxing for a little while until it is time to leave for our last church service. I have to make a correction to my previous post. There will be around 3000 at the church service tonight. They have been advertising for a few weeks and are very excited to have us here!

We are looking forward to our voyage home tomorrow. We will be leaving here at 8:30am to begin the trek homeward. I will call when we are on the ground in Houston, TX. God bless you all, pray that our flights are on time and we are safe getting home!!

Blessings,
Pastor Carl
Managua, Nicaragua

Wednesday Morning

It was great to get some rest!! Understatement... Well, we are only hours away now from returning home. Today we have a school to minister at and the evening service at Hosanna Central. There will be around 1000 people there at the church tonight. During the day today we will be traveling to a tourist site to go zip lining. It should be lots of fun! We have been looking forward to it.

We came to Nicaragua with high expectations of what God was going to use us to accomplish. He really blew our minds on this trip. Far more than we could ever expect or imagine. But it seems as we wind down the ministry that this fact is easy to see, and that is, that yes we saw God move, we saw Him pour out his greatest gift of salvation on hundreds of lives, and we saw a demon cast out of someone, and even saw several healings. But what I want to say this morning is that not only was Nicaragua changed but I am changed. Andrea, Tim, Katie, Jenessa, Breanna, Whitt, Britt, Kristi, Lindsey, Lori, Andrew and James are all changed forever and ever. God is so good to us and as I think about this trip I can only imagine what God has in store for each of these students. God, have your way in their lives. Speak to them, call them and use them for your purposes and goals. Keep them sensitive to the power and moving of your Holy Spirit! En el nombre de Jesus, Amen!!

Blessings,
Pastor Carl
Managua, Nicaragua

Gloria a Dios! Praise the Lord!! Tuesday!

We started very early this morning. I was up and out of bed at 5 am!! Tim and I went to the Hosanna Central church and led devotions at the school of ministry for their pastors. Tim preached a powerful message and it was awesome! Then we had the staff devotions at 8 am with all of the workers at the church. I was supposed to have the team their and I was planning on using two of the team members to help me speak to the staff. Long story short the team didn't get their until after I was already finished speaking. I talked about how God has a purpose and plan for each of our lives and He will provide for our future. It went very well considering I had to scramble a little at the last minute to figure out what I should say exactly.

From the church we all left for a school by the garbage dump. We got there and some 200 kids were there waiting for us. We purchased two pinatas for today and tomorrow to share with the kids there. We shared a short program with them and then had the pinata beating outside. They all had fun whacking it with a broomstick, until it finally fell and the kids went wild!!! They all dove into the pile and started tearing the thing apart to get to the candy. It was insane!! We then went back inside to pray for the students and the staff. It was a good time of healing and blessing for the staff!

We left there and traveled a few blocks to the garbage dump. We drove into the dump and were completely overwhelmed by the sights. People on top of the garbage picking through it. Garbage is on fire there all of the time. You can see smoke from the dump all over the city and even from the plane when you take off and land. We saw kids and adults living there completely surrounded by garbage. It is the definition of poverty. There is now real way to describe it all with words, but those images are forever burned into my mind. As we drove away tears rolled down my cheeks as I wondered what I could do to help one more child from that aweful place. It changes the very way that you think about life, and it's one of those things that you cannot fully understand or appreciate unless you have seen it for yourself.

Ironically, we came back to the hotel to eat after that. Our spoiled American life was quickly re-established. I am not saying that we shouldn't eat or that we should not give God credit for blessing us. I am just so upset that more people don't do something for those that are in such desperate need.

We left our hotel at around 1:30 pm and headed for a school in an area that we had never been to before. We ended up getting lost on the way and came to a part of a dirt road that was washed out. There were some large chunks of concrete in the middle and we were pretty certain that the bus would bottom out if he tried to pass through that spot. We all decided that it would be better if we would back up and turn around so that is what we did. We quickly got back to paved roads and right after Tim said, "it is good to be back on paved roads again" we were on another dirt road heading up a pretty steep hill. There were places where the road was somewhat washed out but nothing like the other road we were on. We went probably 4 miles or so going up and winding around. It seemed like it took us forever to get there. After we arrived there, we just had a sense that the students were really not into this meeting. There was a definite spiritual battle that was taking place as we ministered to 150 or so teenagers. As we closed I invited them to come to the front to be prayed for. It was silent and then they actually started just talking out loud to their friends like there was no one their talking to them. It was a weird feeling standing there and it seemed like they were mocking and making fun of us. Our interpretor actually spoke to them to try and get them to settle and they did, but just for a short time. 5 or 6 people responded to the altar and we prayed for them then we closed. We handed every student a tract about God's love and after the principle asked us to pray for that school we were on our way back to the hotel to change and get ready for the evening service.

We went to a church that was very close to the garbage dump. The entire sanctuary probably seated around 75 or so. We started worship and the place went crazy. They were having so much fun just worshiping God. After worship Kristi P. Whittany H. and Jenessa W. all sang a song and then Tim led a song from the keyboard. As he did there was an incredible sense of worship that came over the place. As he came down off of the platform he made an altar call. Anyone that wanted to be free come forward. As he did a lady in the back of the church began weeping. He called her to the front and as she came it was obvious that she was experiencing the presence of God. As we began to pray for her, she began shaking violently and her head smacked off of the floor. I put my hand under her head as we prayed with Holy Spirit Fire. She shook violently for a few more minutes until a calm peace came over her. She had obviously been healed from something, and it seemed a demon had come out of her. She later shared of how she had been mean to her kids and husband. She didn't know why she had been so mean but now she was filled with peace. She committed to changing her ways as she knew what it meant to serve God. It was awesome to see her testify about what had happened to her.

Another lady had come forward at the end of the service and she could barely walk. She shuffled her feet because her knees were so bad. We began praying for her and you could see the healing take place. She began dancing and jumping and praising God!! She was doing what looked like the chicken dance and was filled with laughter!! You could not help but watch as the joy of the Lord filled her life. There were more testimonies but the hour is late and I will write more tomorrow!! Blessings, We will be home soon!
I can't wait to see our kids and our friends!

Blessings,
Pastor Carl
Managua, Nicaragua

Monday

What a fantastic day of ministry we had today. We are all so very tired but is has been so very worth the efforts that we have put into it!! Today we started out our day at Hosanna central's Christian school. we had a great time with the students there as we declared what it is to be a part of God's army. They responded very well and had a great time.

From there we moved to a school in the Second largest city in Nicaragua, called Masaya. There we first held and assembly with school students from 1st-6th grades. They were so excited to see us and I am so glad that we were there with them. The building that we were in was packed with maybe 250 kids and probably 95 degrees inside and no breeze. There we presented the gospel to those kids with excitement and love and probably close to 100 kids raised their hands for salvation. It was awesome!!

Then we ushered those younger kids out and in ten minutes we were looking at 250 teenagers. We had a rap group come with us today and they sang one song and then James shared his testimony. Then the group came back again to finish up. Andrea then came and shared about God's favor on her life and how her Biological mom made decisions that God was in control of. The altar call was given and over 90 teens gave their heart to God. We stood there in amazement as God poured His love out all over them. We prayed for them and were overwhelmed by everything that happened. God is so good and these testimonies are all for the glory of God!

Pray for us as tomorrow we have a very busy day. We start at 6:10 am and don't stop until probably 8 pm. We really need your support and strength.

Blessings,
Pastor Carl
Managua, Nicaragua

Sunday

Today was a little bit lighter as far as the type of ministry. First we were up early and were at the church at 8am. We shared 5 kids songs and danced around for a while. It was a lot of fun. Then we sat in on the 11 am service in the main sanctuary. The church Hosanna Central has three Sunday services 8 and 11 then at 5pm. There are around 7000 people every Sunday that attend the church. They start their services on time and there were probably 200 or so people in the auditorium that seats 3000. They filter in throughout the first hour and pack the place out! It is like this for every service that we attend.

Then we adjusted our schedule for our new found friends. Our interpretor Pastor Abdias and his wife Amy (who is 8 months pregnant) are in the process of moving into a new home. So we canceled our 5pm gig and helped them move all of their large furniture. They were so very blessed and overwhelmed. It was great because they are such great people. Abdias is the son of the General Superintendent of Nicaragua. We also saw the AG headquarters. They own 30 acres of great property with some great new buildings and an open air tabernacle that seats 5000. It was great to see it!

Thanks for praying for us, the team is getting weary!

Blessings,
Pastor Carl
Managua, Nicaragua

Saturday Night!

We just got back to our hotel it is now 11:30 pm. We attended a youth service in Masaya a nearby town. It was great to worship with a great band and then Tim Ministered the word along with James sharing his testimony. We had around 10 first time decisions for Christ!! It was outstanding! Then as the Holy Spirit led a call was given to any and all who had dealt or been dealing with depression or thoughts of suicide to come and be freed from those burdens. The altar was then jammed with many young people crying out and seeking God for a solid half hour or so. It was a powerful moving time for all of us!

After the service we enjoyed a great chicken dinner at a restaurant called Pollo's Narcy and we ate for about $4.50 Per person. A full meal of two pieces of chicken cole slaw, french fries and, of course, rice!! What a great day and a good night. God is so good and so faithful!!

God bless you all and have a great church day tomorrow,
Blessings,
Pastor Carl
Managua, Nicaragua

Friday and Saturday!

We had a great trip yesterday into the northern country area that surrounds Managua. We went to an orphanage that is run by Metanoia Ministries. There we spent close to 24 hours with some of the most precious kids I have ever met. They were all so warm and welcomed us with opened arms we loved them and they loved us. One of the most touching moments was when they shared some of their testimonies. Most of them had come from the garbage dump where they searched through garbage all day for their families. Some worked on the streets selling whatever or washing windshields for change. What an amazing place. One of the other highlights happened in the afternoon when we got to play soccer with the kids. Tim was an all star forward and James missed more times they he connected. They all ran circles around us!! It was so much fun!! We spent the night praying for sleep and God helped each one of us. We were so touched by the kids it was incredible. Lastly, they wanted to pray with us... First we laid hands on them and then they laid their little hands on us and powerfully prayed God's blessings on our lives. Wow, talk about overwhelming... It is one of those times when you don't dare look around for fear of bawling your eyes out!! What an awesome work that these people are doing down here.

Currently it is raining and about 88 degrees that means 100 percent humidity and when it rains the breeze stops blowing!!!! That is a small thing in comparison to all the things that we are seeing! God is blessing us with the people here. Continue to pray as tonight we have another youth service where James will share his testimony! Looking forward to it!!

Blessings,
Hold us up!!
Pastor Carl
Managua, Nicaragua

Thursday night!

After lunch we went to another hospital and prayed for sick kids in a burn unit. It was a smaller area than this morning, and we were only there for a short time. It was very exciting

The food at the house that we are staying is incredible. All of the cooks are local that can cook!!

What a great service we had tonight. Before the service we got to see one of our interpretors from our last trip. We got to meet his wife and he was very excited to see us. He then interpreted for Tim as he preached! It was really amazing. First, Andrew shared his testimony and then Jenessa shared. What a great job they did. We ended the service with a time of prayer and it was amazing. One guy who was in an accident and even in a coma was there and we prayed for healing for his eye and by the time we were finished he could read a bulletin board in the back of the church. Awesome!! We were so excited!!

We are happy to be back at a decent hour tonight. I also wanted to let everyone know that we will not be in contact for at least 24 hours because we will be leaving here tomorrow morning and will be staying over night at an orphanage. It is a little over an hour away and so our ministry will go late there and we will have a blast with the kids there. We are going to try to get to the mall Saturday afternoon or Sunday afternoon so that everyone can call home!

Thank you all for your prayers, continue to hold us up you are our hands and feet!!

What a day!!

Last night (Wed) we went to Hosanna Central in Managua to a youth service. They had a band there that led a few worship songs and then several other songs for about 1 and a half hours! Then Pastor Tim got to preach. He spoke for about 30 minutes and gave an altar call. We had an opportunity to pray with 40 or so students there. We finished the night with Pizza and got to bed around Midnight! We were up and running at 6 am this morning and we had our devotions with James Nutter leading. We left here at 8:30 am and headed to a local Children's Hospital. This is where all of the sick kids come for specialized treatment from all over Nicaragua. We started in the cancer ward. We were given instructions on how to approach people to pray for them. Some of the kids that we prayed for were just holding onto life. All of our lives were changed in just a few hours of ministering to these people. We went room by room all over the facility for about 1 and a half hours. Then we met in a central courtyard where we shared a few songs and gave a clear presentation of the gospel. 30 or more people accepted Christ into their lives for the very first time. It was amazing. After that we filtered through the crowd just praying for people that had sick kids there. It was extremely emotional and powerful. After that Pastor Tim and I went into the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit to pray for sick kids there. Almost all of them were on ventilators and were very sick. We quietly prayed for 20 ish kids there and it was very moving.

After that we went across the street and prayed for kids that were being treated for cancer. They live at this house and go to the hospital for treatment whenever they need it. We had a good time of prayer with each child there. Then we returned to the house for lunch.

In a little while we will leave here to go to another hospital. We will be praying for the sick and ministering to them similar to how we did this morning. Then tonight we will have a church service. We will be tired later I'm sure. Pray for strength for us as right now we are all pretty emotionally drained.

God Bless You,
Pastor Carl

We Covet Your Prayers

Let me begin by letting you know that your prayers have already been felt. If we would have left Pittsburgh a day later we may have either been stuck in houston or our flight would have been canceled due to the hurricane. We had some bumps in our flights as it was, but it was not too bad. Some of the team was a little queezy by the time we got on the ground in Managua, but were alright.

We hit the ground and got settled into our rooms just in time for an amazing Nicaraguan dinner. Then we went to our first ministry sight. It was a school with around 60 students. The children attend school all year round down here. We had a great time with the kids and the our students did a great job considering they had been awake for 20 some hours. We went to the Gallaria (Mall) Last night to eat and then back to our hotel for bed. Most of the team slept great last night.

This morning we started with breakfast at 7am and team devotions at 7:30 We left here at 8 and went to a large school with around 300 students. Our team did a Great Job and had a great opportunity to pray for students with needs. Then we went to a pre-school about 45 min away. The kids were adorable. We only had about 30 min to spend with them but it was a great time. We then traveled a short distance to a city called Masaya where we met a group of young people that were a part of a rehab program that a local youth pastor ran. After introductions, James Nutter shared an abbreviated version of his testimony and then we layed hands on the kids and prayed. We traveled back to the hotel for lunch and by 5 min into the trip almost everyone was asleep. We ate lunch and then went to a local hospital where we met with the director. He explained exactly what they do and how they run things. It was really a small clinic and they are responsible to take care of an estimated 80 thousand people. The Government subsidizes all of the work there. He then took us on a tour of the facilities and then we gathered in a room and he had his entire staff come in so that we could pray for them!! What a time it was. Tim just spoke to the staff with the power and authority of God. We all laid hands on them and prayed and when we were finished they clapped and some were crying. It was really a moving experience. What an opportunity!! We went from there and met with an organization that helps enable handicapped people here. They provide wheelchairs, crutches and whatever other aid is necessary. We then had prayer for them and their organization. Handicapped people here have no rights. They cannot see a doctor, they cannot work or go to school like everyone else!! It is really a different world here. We have no idea how blessed we are!

I have shared about each place we have been so far, sorry that it is so long but I am unsure if I will be able to write later. We will be leaving here shortly to go to Hosanna Central the large church here in Managua. Tim will be preaching in the youth service there. Continue to pray for us as we need it so much.

We love you all, God Bless you!!

Pastor Carl
Currently in Managua, Nicaragua

Home Again, Home Again

It is great to be away especially when doing ministry, but it always good to be home sweet home. Thank you all who prayed for us while we were away at kid's camp. What a great time we had. We had great times at the altar and in the rooms. We talked about everything from healing to sharing the gospel with our friends. I just love all of the activities and all of the fun that camp provides. I am thankful for a great District that provides these thing for our young people.

I didn't write the last day that we were there because the internet went down and never came on again. I suspect that while we are in Nicaragua next week we will see the same thing. The city of Managua is notorious for roving power outages and limited internet access. So we shall see have patience with me if I don't get to write each day. Pray for us as we finish up the last bit of preparation and finalize everything!

I shaved, then got shaved... kID'S Camp day 2

Tonight I was shaved with water, yes water. I was nominated to have the shaving cream squirted off of my face with water guns as I stood there with my face through a tarp, all while the shavers were blindfolded. Our team won the competition, of course, because the team next to me was squirting me as well as were my own guys. It all worked out in the end. Everything is good at camp as long as the girls lose!!

We had a great service tonight on day 2. The kids were challenged to discover God's gift of healing. Some were weeping, some were praying quietly and some just didn't get what was going on at all... welcome to kid's camp. There are always a few that just want their snack and to get out of there. It was a great night and a fun filled day, but it is time for bed so that we can all do it again tomorrow!!

God bless these little ones and draw them close to you and speak into their hearts!

Kid's Camp #1

Ok so we made it to kids camp without dying. The boys are helping me to write this blog to all of you readers. Noah R. says that the service was great. Sierra thought that the one guy acutually meant what he said? Michael thinks that today was "really great". His favorite part about the day was when we went down the big slide (inflatable) and the Obstacle course!! Darton's favorite part about the day today was the arcade and the pool. CJ says that ping pong and pool was the best. Alex said that his favorite part was when they knocked the tether ball off of the pole and it went flying across the playground! It was pretty funny!

Many kids were saved and rededicated their lives to Christ. That is what makes this so very worthwhile. I had the chance to share Christ with one of our kids and I was really led to give him my Bible so I did. He got choked up and really was excited. I love the way that God touches our kids at camp. I am expecting God to more cool things the rest of this week... stay with me!!

About Next Week...

I was working on my calendar this morning just sitting here in amazement of all the things that I have planned for the next few weeks... I will have to reintroduce myself to my dog at the end of summer!! I will be blogging throughout my adventures so hang with me as I keep you all updated as to where I am and what I am doing over the next few weeks. Beginning next Monday I will be traveling to Kids Camp and will be there till Friday. After that I will be leaving on Tuesday, July 22-31 I will be traveling to Managua, Nicaragua for a 10 day missions trip. Then I leave for Charlotte, NC on Aug 4th till the 9th for National Fine Arts. Good knowing you!! I'll be in touch!!

Just Thinkin'

I was just praying and thinking about our next few weeks coming up and I realized that even though we often feel so inadequate to do the work of God, He will still use us. It's in those precious moments where the Holy Spirit moves in someone's heart and they turn to Him to be the Lord of their lives that motivates and inspires me. We all have our passions and our own personal desires and agendas. Trust me we need agendas!! When God decides to give someone an opportunity to turn to Him it is a powerful, life changing, moment. We need to give people more opportunities to accept Christ into their lives, and stop worrying about what they might think or how it makes us look. WHO CARES!!! We need to get past our own selfishness and put the love of Christ in front of us to do His will!! The end!

Cool Gadget!

Just a quick post about some cool gadgets that I ran across this morning. (Nothing spiritual or magical contained in this blog)

This little bracelet connects via bluetooth to your enabled cell phone and vibrates when you have a call or wander too far away from your needed device! Outstanding, I think I will get one for my wife then I can stop fussing at her for not having her cell phone at the mall!! Great deal for only $49.99 at: http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/cellphone/9e31/

Yet another must have:

Palm-Z Mini Indoor R/C Airplane

A couple of these planes could make your next ho-hum all-nighter into the humdinger of all nighting fun!! Dogfights, mad dashes, and length of flight games could add to the excitement of having all of your friends together! Anyway, here is the link!! Enjoy:
http://www.thinkgeek.com/geektoys/rc/93cf/

Don't forget to see the video of the guy in the office flying the plane around as the master controller!! Classic!

Young People in Ministry!

As I sit here this morning pondering last night's events and God's Word speaking to me this morning I am drawn back to think about Timothy in the scriptures. God's young servant full of the power of the Holy Spirit and inspired to do the work that God himself called him to do. It reminds me of my own testimony of how one day at an altar God chose to call me into His full time service. Me... he picked me?? I still have to ask myself why, and how, and what do I possibly have to offer Him. There must be someone better equipped, smarter, more talented than I.?? Right God? When I think about it I am always reminded that God doesn't need us for what we can do, He wants to use us for what He can and will do, and there is a huge difference there. I loved having Pneuma from VFCC last night in our church. They did a great job, and it was great to hang out with precious young people called by God to serve Him! It is refreshing to see that God is still working in the lives of our students. Support our schools and support the work of God!! Don't struggle with God's call on your life, simply do what He has asked you to do!!
Blessings,
PC

Back To Life

This is the time to wake up and get back to reality. Our kids this morning didn't want to get out of bed and get going and neither did the parents! Our home and our bed felt so good this morning as we spent our first night home after a week of sleeping in our camper! See our pics on my facebook page.

It reminds me of the loving arms of Christ when we stray. What an amazing place we can be in if we choose to turn from our sin and come back (home) to our God. He will wrap his loving arms around us and we can live there, protected by Him the creator of the universe! What grace he has for each of us sinners! Wrap me in your arms God... makes me think of a song. I will play it now! Thanks for reading, and leave some comments, BE NICE!!

Wrap Me In Your Arms. Lisa Gungor

The Day After...

Yesterday was a great day to serve our God! We had our first annual gospelfest at a local elementary school. All was going great until... we looked at the radar map! Large clouds filled with rain and lightning were coming straight at us! We gathered the missions team together to pray and with their faith God held off the rain until 8:40pm. We started at 7 and had a great time. We had food, t-shirt sales, and lots of other stuff to buy! Our students worked hard and in the end we only had just a spritz of rain, even throughout the clean-up time! Finally hit my bed around 12:20 for what seemed like a short nap only to be back getting ready for Sunday morning worship. All in all a great day and a good time was had by all who attended!

Vacation this coming week!! We are wore out!!

Blessings,

PC

Traveling Chaos

Ok, just a short blurb this morning as there is much to do for our upcoming gospelfest. Whenever there is chaos in our lives God gives His ever present help and stability. I love when He comes through for us, it somehow always shocks me like I didn't realize that He was still in control. I can think of many instances when God did something awesome in my life and I was shocked and amazed by His providence! Why, shouldn't I be expecting it? What a goof I am sometimes, I am so thankful that I serve a God who is absolutely alive and well and who is concerned about my needs and desires. Go God do it again, not just in my life but in others around me! Amaze me again! I love it! I love Him!
Thanks for Reading,
Blessings
PC

New to Blogging!!

This is just my fist real attempt at blogging, so take it as you will. I am really getting excited about this "new" adventure for myself, and really unsure about where this will really land me according to society's standards. But I do know that as I write this my fame will be reached quickly by those who read and soak in the infinite wisdom that shall come forth according to the purposes that God has in store!! Sorry a little KJV slipped out of me!! Anyway, have fun reading and I'm sure that there will be some serious stuff... maybe!! Blessings! PC