Very Funny!

Look closely at the pictures, one of them may be you!!

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Great Video

I stumbled across this video yesterday and decided to share it with you. It is an awesome story of a young man's battle with cancer and his change of perspective. I think we can all learn something from his attitude toward life!!

Our Last Days!!

What a special time we had in our last hours of ministry here in Bangalore, India!!
On Saturday we were honored to go to Grace Childrens Home and minister to the kids there! I should say they ministered to us. What an awesome time with those precious souls! They shared a program with us then we shared a progam with them! Believe me ours was lame in comparison!! They were great kids! We then gave them some candy and tied balloons for them did face painting... What a blast!! It was an experience that I'll never forget! It was the absolute highlight of this trip for me!!

Sunday was a blast! We got up early and were at the church by 5:45 ready to go for the first Sunday morning service!! Greg hubbard preached 5 services all before 1:30 in the afternoon!! To see the people come in and pack that sanctuary was amazing! Before each service was over new people were pressed against the glass doors at the back waiting to get a good seat for the next service! What hunger these people had to see God work in their lives! Every service Tim and Robyn would sing and so I tried to work with the sound guys to make that happen as smoothly as possible! Not always easy when there is a language barrier! God is faithful and so many lives were touched and changed by the power of God!!

Tim then spoke at the 4:45 and the 6:00 services to cap off an incredible time here in India. We are all looking forward to being home with our families! We leave here on a 3 am Tuesday morning flight for home and I hope to be home around midnight Tuesday night!

Thank you all so much for your prayers and encouraging words!

Pastor Carl

Very Busy Weekend!

The past couple of days have been very difficult on me as I have been pretty sick but am definitely better today! I had some kind of flu that hit me Wednesday and then I had the Chills so bad all day Thursday and most of the day Friday! It was pretty bad but I was able to stay in bed and in the bathroom those two days!! We only had night services so I only missed two evenings of ministry! I am much better this am though with a busy day ahead with a service for men this am then ministry in an orphanage this afternoon.

Tomorrow we will be involved in 8 services and will be doing children, youth and adult services starting at 5:45 when the first worship service begins and then ending at 8pm when we will leave the church! Wow, what a schedule! I am excited to see what God is going to do through us as we finish up our ministry time here in Bangalore! We are all a little homesick and a little bit weary, but we know that God's Word tells us that when we are weak, He is strong!

Thanks for your prayers they are felt here!

Blessings,
Pastor Carl

We are Doing very well!!

Thank you all so very much for your prayers as we are doing very well and God is moving in our service times!

Last night, Tues. we had the opportunity to go to a service with the leaders from different parts of the city. Pastor Greg ministered to around 100 people encouraging them to be faithful in their ministries and we had a powerful time of prayer and petition before coming back to the Hotel for sleep! It was a long day but God was in control of our time and we know that God has been blessed by it!

The church runs very differently here, I will try to explain it to you! The pastoral staff here is in charge of a specific area of the city where they minister, along with a team of lay leaders, to the people in their area. These areas start at the smallest being 400-500 up to some that have 3000 people!! These pastors are in charge of visiting people in hospitals as well as small groups that meet in the homes. The lay leaders are who we are targeting in these nightly services. We are encouraging them to keep working for God and allow Him to bless them!!

This morning we went to a Bible College and ministered to a group of close to 300 students. These are students from all over Asia! Tim and Robyn sang three songs together and Greg ministered to them! They were very encouraged by us being there and it was a little easier because they all spoke English! At the end Greg had me give an encouraging word and pray to close! It was a powerful time of ministry!! God is really blessing that school and students are going into ministry from there after each semester!

Tonight another leadership meeting and some rest!
Thanks for you prayer support, we need it!

Pastor Carl

Coimbatore India

Monday Night

One thing I could complain about is the Internet service here is quite bad to say the least!! I am able to get on for short periods and update facebook and that's about all! I am hoping that tomorrow we will have better service.

Today was pretty relaxing we we supposed to go to a school today but the schools were closed today due to the amount of rain that they have been having. So we slept in and had a nice lunch together.

At around three we went to the pastors house had some tea and cake with him. It was nice sitting and listening to him talk about the hinu way of life! He also relayed his digust with our president taking part recently in one of their holidays the celebrates when all of their kings were destroyed and the Hindu cast system was put in place! He was really discusted with Pres Obama taking part and slapping the Christians in India in the face!
We then went and ministered in an orphanage to about 25 kids! We had a blast as we shared a song with them and a skit. We also gave them candy and bracelets and then finished with lots of balloon hats and animals! It was a great time with them!
Then we went back to the pastors home for dinner. We had some spectacular food with curry beef and some spicy chicken and rice it was awesome!! As my mother in law would say it took the hair right off your tongue!! Wifey would love the food here!!
After that we went to the church to meet with the church leadership! Greg talked to them about vision compassion cooperation creativity and knowing God! It was really great, and each one there was so very thankful to us coming to be with them. This was our last meeting with this church so we said goodbye to the leadership team. We will see the pastor Jason, pastor preteem, joy the pastors daughter and Shauntie the pastors wife tomorrow at the airport to see us off!
These are all great people with a hunger to see God pour out his spirit her in this city. We had such a great time here but are looking forward to Bangalore and our ministry there!! We are packed up and ready to go there!!
continue to pray for us there!!

Pastor Carl

Coimbatore India

Sunday 11-8 PM

What a great day of ministry we have had today!!
We had three services and as I sit here I think about how awesome it has been here already!

After speaking to the teenagers this morning I want to share with you Some of the biggest thing that stick out to me so far. I noticed as I shared my heart with them this morning that they are very intense people. What I mean is, that these youth were just hanging on every word that I said. They were hungry to hear what I had to say. I pray that our people are more like that! Desperate to hear God speaking to them. Then after the message every one of those kids stayed and one by one they brought their needs to the altar and I had prayer for them! I was amazed by their faith and expectation to see God work in their lives. These people are very happy to have us here in their country ministering with to them!

Tonight Tim is ministering in the Adult service and several have received healings already!! One guy in particular had his legs healed! He was living in pain and could barely bend his knees, but by the time the altar time was done be was high stepping around the church!! It was awesome and we gave all the glory to God!!

This morning Tim went by motorcycle with the associate pastor to a church across town to preach there. He said that it was a crazy ride! Driving here is insane, worse than anywhere I have ever been! The streets are narrow and they are jammed with taxis bicycles motorcycles cars vans busses, you name it, it comes at you fast! Tim had a great service and was very humbled when they gave him an offering at the end of the morning!! this building literally had a tree growing up through the middle of it! The amount was two hundred rupees which is the equivilant to around 4 American dollars! Very humbling!!

It has been a great day!!

Coimbatore, India

Staurday 11:40 pm

Today was a great first day of ministry her in coimbatore! We arrived at hotel at 7:30 am this morning. We were looking forward to going to bed and resting until the first nights service. After Greg spoke with the pastor he realized that the church had a 10:30 am service!! So all of the girls went to bed and the boys went to the church! We all has a good time and following the service we went right to bed until 5:30 pm when we had to be back at the church! We Had a great night with Robyn and tim singing three songs then Greg preaching! The people responded very well and we got to pray with everyone that was there! Finally we ate at our hotel resteraunt, curry chicken! Spicey hot goodness!! 7 of us ate like kings for like 7 dollars each! Amazing!
Enough for now, tomorrow is a long day with three services!

I hope to get back on the Internet soon!!
The weather today was in the low 70s but terrential rains came in tonight, it was a little rough, but we managed it!

Blessings,
Pastor Carl

India

Saturday 4:30 am!
Right now we are sitting waiting for our last flight from Chennai to Coimbatore where we will begin our work here in India! We will get to our hotel and rest after a long two days of travel! Our first ministry will be a church service tonight after we rest and get cleaned up! The first two flights were very smooth, but very long! The first one was around 7 hrs. and the second was close to 9 hrs.!! But all is well and I will post this as soon as I can to my blog! Continue to pray for us the God wil have His way!
Pastor Carl

On the way!

I am currently in a van on the way to Philly to catch a plane to India! It is overwhelming to think about how quickly this vame about for me!! God must be ready to do some amazing things through us!!
Andrea sent me a prayer sign-up sheet where our students signed up on different days to pray for us every day that we are gone! They signed up last night at youth! It is awesome to know that we are covered in prayer and exciting to know that they were willing to commit to that!! I am truly a blesses man for sure!!
Check back as I will be posting as much as I can!
Pastor Carl

Kids These Days!!

We have all heard that expression! Kids These Days! It is almost always used in a negative sense! However, today I wanna tell you that these young people, that I am privileged enough to work with, are pretty amazing!! I wanna relay this e-mail from our district Youth Alive Director Jason Lamer, that has to do with one of our students!! So go ahead... be proud of them, I am!!

This is Courtney's report from last month!!

"This has easily been the most amazing month for me since I have become a campus missionary. My youth group had a post SYATP rally and I invited my whole volleyball team. They are my closest friends and four of them are on my five friend focus. My entire team ended up attending and all four of them were saved!!! I had the amazing opportunity to pray with them and it was an experience like I have never had. Seeing my prayers so clearly answered was amazing. God did some awesome things in their lives. They are so excited to know Jesus and are asking tons of questions that I LOVE answering for them. They are already sharing Christ with other students and their families!! I can't wait to see what October holds for me as a CM and for our team, now all sisters in Christ!! =D"

*Courtney was awarded the DYD Merit Award for 2008-09 school year.

Kid's in School!

It has been a while since my last post, so here comes a new one!

I love this time of the year! Friday night football, Soccer games, school events... the list goes on! As I think about all of the fun things our kids do and experience at school, I also think about the great opportunities that they each have to share Christ through their lives. Our students are really amazing. They are stepping up the place as never before!

This Wed. night is our annual See You At The Pole event. We will have games and prizes and food at our post pole rally! We are anticipating breaking our attendance record but more importantly we are trusting God to save many souls!! I am believing and praying for more students to lay down their lives for God.

Pray for us as we continue on in His service!
Blessings,
PC

The Nines

I am so looking forward to this one day of church leadership! The nines will be an all day marathon for any and all leadership. I am so looking forward to this lineup of cutting edge church leadership! They are always full of ideas, humor, and insight! Below, I posted a short video below for you to check it out if you are interested in this totally free webinar!!!

Blessings,
PC

The Nines from Todd Rhoades on Vimeo.

Our First Day in Orlando!

We had a great trip here, no problems other than a few serious thunderstorms! We had a few bad slowdowns because of the weather, so it took us almost 6 hours to get here when it should have only taken 5 hours. All in all it was a good trip.

We had our first service tonight! Picture the largest room you have ever seen with close to 20 thousand screaming young people! It was great!! Almost all of our students responded to the altar call!

We are looking forward to a great day tomorrow, we will go and listen to James at 9:08am and then we will go to Magic Kingdom in the afternoon. There is no service tomorrow night so we are looking forward to the time off!! Dylan raps on Wednesday @ 9:30 so we will do that then go to another park in the afternoon. There is a lot to do and it seems like we will not have very much down time! Pray for us as we go!!

Blessings,
Pastor Carl

Ready to Ride!!

Well, We are all packed up and ready to hit the road. We will be leaving on Sunday morning at 7am!! We will drive about 10 hours on Sunday and then stay overnight in a hotel. We will then continue the rest of the way on Monday to our home for the week in Orlando. We will have the opportunity to hear Jeff Deyo leading worship and several amazing speakers including Tony Dungy, Herbert Cooper and many others. We are really excited about the fine arts competition that will be taking place all week! Please remember us in prayer as we pack up and hit the road for this amazing opportunity! I will be blogging our events throughout the week!!

blessings,
Pastor Carl

Kid's Camp 2009

I always have a blast at camp and this year was no different. We were able to take 15 great kids from our church, and had a great week with them. Below you will see a video of our kids at camp. There was so much to put on here, but I just did the highlights! Hope you enjoy it!
Blessings,
Pastor Carl

Day of Fire Testimony

I saw this testimony of God's grace and mercy and had to share it with everyone. This is a powerful video, take 5 minutes to check it out!!
Blessings,
Pastor Carl

I Love Kids!!

See this is why I love Students. They are creative and intuitive and they never cease to amaze me!
We had a great week at camp last week. Thanks to all who were praying for us as we went. God did some very real things in them as well as myself as we were challenged to do the things that God has called us to! What a great time it was for each of our students. I will never forget it! Thanks guys for a great week!!

Blessings,
PC

Church Pastor's Bible Study Shut Down!

When I saw this story I couldn't believe it! Check out this video and wonder about our country and it's values! I am shocked and very nervous, I didn't think that I would see this in my lifetime!!

Open Handed Leadership

I have lived this concept for many years and have really seen this modeled by my mentors. The idea of leading with an opened hand is an amazing concept that I learned early on in ministry.

First, let me explain what I mean. We have all heard of "leading with an Iron Fist", well, this concept is the exact opposite of that. Where we often run in to difficulties in ministry is when we jump to conclusions or make a quick tempered decisions. I really try hard not to respond when someone is harsh or brash towards me, my ministry, or even my family. It is often their own struggles or insecurities coming out through their actions. God deals with everyone on His/Her own level. Quite often struggles and conflict work themselves out without any kind of help/hindrance from me.

Now, let me explain that there are definite lines that cannot be crossed with this leadership style. We cannot allow people to walk all over us as push-overs. These people must be dealt with or the ministry vision will not move forward. This is vital to understand. Even Jesus turned over the table in the temple courts, and fussed at his disciples when they fell asleep!

We must be cautious leaders, not paranoid, conflict hungry lions! We can self and ministry destruct in just a few short months if we lead in this way. There are some predators out there, the Bible is clear about that, but in our churches the vast majority want to see the Great Commission fulfilled!

The next time that you are in conflict and ready to jump down someone's throat take your pointed finger and turn your hand over and look at your palms. No scars? Jesus took the nails for us... those scars are the reason that we are in the position that we are in! Lead with an opened hand, Jesus willingly obtained those scars for you and for me!

Just some thoughts from a YP!

Blessings,
Pastor Carl

God’s Chisel

This is a link to a great video drama of two men speaking of how God wants us to change!  It is a great dramatization of His love for us and how we often miss out on what He has for us because of our insecurities.  It really made me think! You may need to be a member of facebook as it is a facebook video! 

“God’s Chisel”

Blessings,

Pastor Carl

Inspirational!

I saw this video today posted by one of my friends and had to share it with you all! I just wept as I watched God move through people!!

Potentiality

I am often amazed at how the Holy Spirit works in me, especially on Wednesday nights during a youth service. Let me explain:

I often have these images of young people ministering to others in my mind while I am sharing a message with them. Yep, while I am preaching I see them preaching and leading and helping others. I don't understand it all, but I am often encouraged by the images I have from God. These precious lives deserve our attention and I am committed to see them used by God! I am here for each one of them and I love them with all of my heart! These students are some of the most gifted kids that I have ever had in my ministry. I believe that they are world changers and if they put their minds to it they will accomplish great things for God!

I am really excited to see where some of these God ordained students end up!! I am praying that God will use them to do some great things!

Remember this account of these young men as they began their ministry!

Acts 3
Peter Heals the Crippled Beggar
1One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer—at three in the afternoon. 2Now a man crippled from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. 3When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. 4Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, "Look at us!" 5So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them.

6Then Peter said, "Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk." 7Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man's feet and ankles became strong. 8He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God. 9When all the people saw him walking and praising God, 10they recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate called Beautiful, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

Blessings,
Pastor Carl

Attn: All Parents of Teenagers!!

Some of you need one of these right now, and others will need one of these when your child starts dating! I have one on hold at Target now for when my girls get old enough!! Thanks Jeff Leake for posting this... I stole it from him!!

Good Times

I have learned so very much over the past two weekends I can't even tell you. 

First of all last week we went to our Penn-Del District Youth Convention.  It was really amazing and I had such a great time with all of our students.  We had record attendance and I think that everyone had such a great time.  The services were absolutely incredible.  We hosted Robert Madu and he was awesome.  He really preached his heart out and it was incredible! Check out his web site:  http://robertmadu.com/ We also had the band "Worth Dying For" that led worship.  They were an amazing band and they really led us into great times of worship.  You can check out some pictures here on my facebook account:
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=368237&l=7c3b0d12ac&id=1070941083
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=367400&l=d3b7cc1de3&id=1070941083
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=367436&l=4188ef758f&id=1070941083
What a great weekend of seeking God and His leading and direction.

This past weekend I had the great opportunity to go with the Waynesburg Central High School Pride Retreat.  Wow, is all that I can say about it.  I love to see students get inspired and changed by one another.  This public school retreat not only changes the students that are invited it changes the staff that is there as well.  These students are challenged to build relationships with each other and with the staff members that they are assigned to.  We call them "family Groups".  It is so much fun and you would not believe where some of these kids have come out of!  Wow, it amazes me that they are able to go on with life, but some of them do exceptionally well!  I am blessed and changed to have been given the opportunity to be a part of it!!


Thanks for reading,

Pastor Carl

Just for Old Time's Sake!

Here are some puzzles that were written back in the 80's. Try them out and have fun just don't get caught by your boss.
Here is the link: http://virtualapple.org/numbersquaresdisk.html


Here is the article that goes along with it:
The Apple II Gains Eternal Life in the Web Browser

Phil Shapiro

Mar 20, 2009 8:04 am

Back in 1989, in the same year Tim Berners-Lee was cooking up the world wide web, I asked myself if there were some way to connect joy and thinking in the minds of elementary school children. With the help of a talented Apple employee, Dave Lyons, I assembled a collection of logic puzzles named Number Squares that ran on Apple II computers. Back in those days the Apple II was king.

I founded a software company and sold that software commercially between 1990 and 1995. When the Apple II computer was discontinued by Apple in 1994, I thought the lifespan of that software had come to an end.

What I didn't anticipate is the talented person who created AppleIIGo, a Java applet that runs Apple II software within a web browser. When I heard about AppleIIGo, I posted a short note on the AppleIIGo discussion forum asking if there was anyone who could help create a disk image of the Number Squares logic puzzles I designed way back when. Robert Stone, from Columbus, Ohio, answered the call.

And soon after I was running Number Squares on various modern computers. Thanks to to Bill Martens at the Apple Puget Sound Program Library Exchange you can now play these puzzles right in your web browser on the Virtual Apple web site. The direct link to the puzzles is right here.

A QuickTime screencast I created showing the puzzles in action can be seen here.

Here are a few tips for playing these puzzles. First off, you need to remind people playing these puzzles that this software does not respond to any mouse actions. All the game play occurs via the four arrow keys -- along with the return key (also known as the "enter" key.) Sometimes you need to use the mouse to click onto the window of the Number Squares puzzles for the software to respond to the keyboard, though.

Start off with the 4 x 4 puzzles. You'll enjoy those most. My favorite puzzles are the 5 x 5 puzzles. Use the arrow keys to move the numbers into the open space. Keep in mind that if you solve a puzzle one or two seconds faster than you did before, you'll receive more substantially more points for doing so.

The points you receive for solving puzzles is based on how fast you solve the puzzles and how difficult the puzzle is. I've seen kids play these puzzles for more than an hour and not get tired of them. With the gentle guidance of an adult or older sibling, the puzzles become even more fun and interesting.

Neat Story!

Blow Some Bubbles in Your Drink!

Just a quick thought today. I had a Dr. appointment today and after, I took my wife to Panera Bread for lunch. By the way, I highly recommend the Black Bean Soup!! Anyway, we got talking about life and things that are happening and as I was sitting there I started blowing bubbles in my drink. I laughed to myself, then I told my wife that we all need to smile every now and then. She was not really amused by it but I kept it up and probably annoyed her a little bit!

The point is this, sometimes we just need a little levity to get us past some things that we are struggling with. Laugh at yourself, I think that it is healthy. Whether or not you want to admit it we are all very, very funny! God wants to fill us with His joy and peace, but we have to have some initiative in our lives. If we allow ourselves to wallow around in the mud, we will get comfortable and stay there for a while, dirty and pitiful. But if we choose to allow God to lift us up out, then we too can get ourselves cleaned up so that we can blow bubbles and enjoy life. It can get difficult at times, but you can make it through!!

Stay faithful and He will lift you up!!

Blessings,

Pastor Carl

Still Learning

We all have these preconceived ideas about how life should go...

That will make you think a bit huh? Things come into our lives and leave from our lives. Circumstances and problems, blessings and fun. We live these things out, and in front of us seems to be this straight road when we look out. It is when we look back that we can see the twists and turns and hills and valleys.

I will never forget as a 12 year old boy going on vacation to California. We went as a family and drove our Mercury Marquis and our pop-up camper across the entire country. There were three of us in the back and three in the front of the car. I can't believe that we made it without killing each other. Some of the mountain passes that we drove up and through were amazing, spectacular as I think about it. These were winding twisting roads as we drove up higher and higher. You could not see the next curve until you were already in the middle of it. You did not know what was ahead because you could not see around the turn you were in. Then all of a sudden the old Mercury would shift and we would be on top of it all! You could look back and see the road that we just came up and across the valley or whatever was on the other side. It was truly spectacular to see, at times even breathtaking!!

I told you that little story to say this. We must go through the twists and turns to get to the top. We do not know what will be around the next bend. We do not know when the next curve will come or even how steep the climb will be. We can be rest assured though, because we know who is in the driver's seat. The one leading us through it all!! He is the sustainer and giver of all things!!

Be our Leader and Guide Lord!!!

Just a side note, I would have probably given my right arm for a GPS unit in those days, it would have saved us some time and arguments!!

Blessings,

Pastor Carl

Kid's Breakaway Day 2

Well, we are almost finished with breakaway and we had a great time. We will be leaving here as soon as we eat lunch (burgers and fries) in the Caf. after the am service.

Today was a good time for all. We had a great time this morning when we had a missionary to Cuba in the service with us. It was great to hear the stories of how people are being saved in such a closed country. We at lunch then basically had free time this afternoon. We played on the playground (thank God for beautiful weather) Played basketball, and had a blast on the inflatable games set up in the gym.

After dinner (chicken nuggets!! (one of my personal pbcc favorites)) ;-) we had our last PM service and it was great. the kids were challenged to consider the baptism in the Holy Spirit. It was great to see kids praying with their chaperons in circles and hearing kids crying out to God. Tonight we had a movie night in the gym and we watched "the Pirates Who Don't Do Anything". It was much fun, but the sleepyheads are always a challenge to get back to their rooms.Overall it was a good day, I will not have time to write tomorrow so have a great morning worship service and we will see you all between 4-5 pm!! Pray for a safe trip home and plenty of peace and quiet in the van with all of the sleepy kids!!

I hope that some of you enjoyed the facebook pics, and those of you that don't facebook, you should join up because it is one of the easiest ways to stay connected!!

Blessings,

Pastor Carl
Carlisle, PA

Kid's Breakaway

Just to let everyone know... We made it to breakaway and everyone is doing just fine. We are all tired and some are having a little trouble getting to sleep with all the chatter... o wait that's my guys!! Hold on.............. Anyway we are all good, had a good service tonight where the kids were challenged to submit to Jesus and let Him take control of their lives. We had a good response and are looking forward to tomorrow's services. We got to spend time in the gym after the service on the inflatables. Everyone had a blast and ran around to wear themselves out!! We are all good and tired after the travel and fun.

Pray that God does some great things tomorrow in the lives of our kids. Pray that they are opened to His will and the moving of His Spirit!

Blessings,
Pastor Carl
Carlisle, PA

Mashed Potatoes... Hold The Gravy!!

You know things don't always go the way that you want them to.

This past weekend we had our annual Sectional Fine Arts Competition in Uniontown, PA. Our students did a great job all day as we ran from event to event trying to see all of them minister. I was so very proud of each one as they did their best for the Kingdom of God.

There were a few events (as always) that I really felt strongly that our students should have moved on to the district level in. I have to confess that as a youth pastor I tend to get upset when judges do not see it the way that I do! I have to look back and laugh at myself as I get worked up reading evaluations that just plain don't make sense to me. I try hard not to let my displeasure ruin the day for the students that these evaluations effect. It can be difficult though, I am HUMAN!! I want the very best for these kids and I want them to be encouraged as many of them are blessed with talents that are unbelievable.

This past week I found myself sick as can be. I woke up Wednesday morning so sick I had to go to the doctor's office. (I never go to the doctor!) I have not been to the doctor for sickness since I was a kid! I went and found out that I had an intestinal virus and was extremely dehydrated (go figure)!! I was given 2 liters of IV fluids and sent home to rest. I even missed youth group for the first time since I have been in ministry!! It was very difficult to lay at home and place everything in trusted hands to do the job! (thanks Tim, Katie, and Andrea) It is good (necessary at times) to have trusted people in our lives that can step in at a moment's notice and stand in the gap for us!! What a blessing, even though at the time it felt like a curse!! All I ate on Wednesday was a little bit of Grammy's mashed potatoes... without the gravy I didn't need gravy at that point in my life!!! What a lesson I was given through this.

Often we find ourselves dependent on only what God has given to us. We must learn through life. We cannot give up on something because a "judge" does not like our style or our song. It's our song that He has given us... we must keep singing it for Him and for no one else!! If others desire to lend an ear and be blessed by it than so be it!! Don't let someone steal from you the gift that He has so graciously given to you! Sing, preach, write, teach, live the way He has shown you! Allow the Holy Spirit to be your guide, sometimes people miss out on the message because of their own humanity. Don't let that discourage you. Peter walked on water toward Christ until his humanity stepped in between and he started to sink. What did Jesus do? He reached out and lifted him up from the wave that he could have drowned in!

Be lifted up today!!
Blessings,
Pastor Carl

I Learned Something Today!

So often we get caught up in the business of our days and sometimes we forget that we are real people in a real world, who are trying to do our best.

This morning as I was driving my daughters to school we paused, as we do everyday, to ask God to help us through our day and to pray for protection. As Abby was praying I felt something on my shoulder. As I drove on I looked down to see Megan's hand (my youngest daughter) on mine and Abby's shoulders. She was agreeing with Abby in prayer by simply whispering a prayer of her own as her big sis prayed. I was taken back that she would lay her hands on us as we prayed together.
This moment in time made me think about our lives. We often over think our "prayer life" and the ways that we communicate with our God. You see, I don't think He cares to see us praying in public or for any kind of performance. He wants to see our hearts in our words and our actions. We don't need to dramatize our prayers to get through to our Creator. He looks into our very souls when we communicate with Him. He knows when we are being real and when some are just showing off their educated words or actions. When my daughter touched me this morning I was a little shaken, because I had been taking these prayer times a little too lightly. We were talking to God and He was listening to us. I learned (from my 6yr. old) that it doesn't matter if we are driving down the street in the car or eating dinner or even just hanging out, God is concerned about us and we need to communicate with Him. We need to share everything with Him and never take Him for granted.

Luke 18:16-17
But Jesus called the children to him and said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it."

Just something to think on...

Blessings,
Pastor Carl

Here We Go................!

It is a happy day to be a Steelers fan. A great day to be a part of the AFC! Also, if you watch the news, you might want to hold on as this could be one of the greatest matchups ever in the Superbowl!!

As all of the crying winds down on the missed calls and what should-have-been, the reality is that the Arizona Cardinals led by Kurt Warner and the Pittsburgh Steelers led by.... an awesome defense, are heading to SuperBowl XLIII!!
Last night we knew that it would be a shootout in the desert and a slugfest in the snow! These two games did not disappoint anyone! Each of the four teams had opportunities to take control of the game and turn the outcome to their favor. There is, however, tons of speculation surrounding the officiating crew and penalties given and not given. The reality in my mind is this... No matter how a game is called, you have to do what it takes to win! The Cards and the Steelers did just that. In the Cardinals game there was a botched kickoff that looked for a moment that it went out of bounds and then bounced back onto the field of play. What really happened though was that the ball bounced in bounds and fell onto the feild of play and was recovered by the kickoff team (Arizona). They didn't cry a river! They simply played on!! The correct no call was made at the end of the game when no pass interference was called on a throw to Curtis who got tangled up, and the ball hit him in the hands. You have to play through adversity in the NFL. He makes the 4th down catch there may have been a different outcome??

In the other game there were multiple times that the officials "took control" when they should have left the flag in their pockets. How about the two touchdowns that the Ravens got. On both occasions the Steelers were flagged for pass interference in the endzone! Wow, both were questionable calls. Then the running into the kicker call at the end of the half that gave the Steelers the ball back, aweful. Then the no call that everyone is crying about today was the hit on McGahee at the end of the game. It was not a helmet led hit! The shoulder hit first and the unfortunate result was a knocked out cold McGahee! After a scary moment the game was won by the Steelers and McGahee should make a complete recovery.

All in all the best teams won yesterday and Superbowl XLIII should be a good one!!

I am Resolved to be Resolute!!!

I write this today very humbly because I recognize how God has blessed my life over the years. I look at where we are at in our lives and I see areas that we must work on. I have resigned myself to the fact that I need to work on my physical body over the next few months. Ouch, that sounds like pain doesn't it?? Yes it will hurt some days, but with some consistency I will look and feel better about myself in no time.

See, we often work hard at the spiritual things in our lives, setting aside daily time, and taking time to be with the ones that we love. But there always seems to be a side of us that gets a little (or a lot) neglected. A couple of years ago I got it in my mind to "get in shape" and I did a pretty good job of it. I lost around 30 pounds of excess weight and was doing very well. Since then there has been a lot of bad habits formed. I have not done much work to take care of this old (getting older) shell of mine. I think that it is important for me to be healthy so that I can be everything that God wants me to be. Soooooooooo I have decided to try to get to a target weight of 215 pounds. Wow, right now that seems insurmountable, but with God's help and encouragement from others I will be able to do it. My current weight before I began was 265!! I have a lot of work to do here. I trust that you will pray for me for strength and courage as I go after this goal. I am going to really push myself to be in much better shape by 3 months time. I am hoping to be back to where I was a couple of years ago after three months. We will see! Thanks for allowing me to be transparent with you in this matter! We can all be better together!!

Blessings,
Pastor Carl