Monday Morning Downloads

Okay, a few weeks ago I posted an MMD after many weeks without one. I got you all geared up and ready for them. I reawakened some old addictions and created some new ones. And then the following Monday you logged in for your fix and…………… May I say I’m sorry? I can? Thank you. Its been a crazy couple of weeks and I’m sorry. But I’m back. MMD is back. And you’re back. All is well. Here are my thoughts on the weekend. They are in somewhat of a chronological order but if the line gets squiggly try your best to follow it and I promise I will bring you out on the other side.

*On Friday we got our kids library cards. It reveals a bit of my nerdiliciousness love for my children that I promote reading so much but I love books and I’m thankful that my kids do as well. More on books later.

*We’re slowly getting used to being away from Lynchburg. If I said it has been easy I’d be lying and the whole lying thing doesn’t mix well with the following Jesus and spreading the Gospel thing so I won’t lie. But I can say I’m falling in love with this area and with the people. They are a unique people. And I don’t say “unique” the way a guy says unique when describing his wife’s friend to his best friend while setting up a blind date.

*A brief note about the people of this area. They are very easy going and nice. Very nice. Like “cut them off on the highway and they smile and wave at you nice” and when I say wave I mean they wave with their entire hand. Amazing! While the Malachowskys are testing the niceness the way Armstrong tested the moon ground, I’m embracing it. Filling my lungs with it.

*Saturday was baseballllll day. We went with the Malachowskys to our first Bluefield Bluejays game and I must say I loved it. I love the small town feel of the ball park and I love the fact that going to the concession stand isn’t like pursuing the Taliban through Afghan caves. Both Caroline and Jasilyn got to compete in games on the field and they rocked their games. Caroline proved that she is a rule follower and the whole rule following thing is good if you’re gonna be President which she is.Jasilyn showed off her water balloon skills in the water balloon toss. They both were which made me

*Bluefield woke up to a beautiful Sunday morning and it was one of those days when you feel like God has much bigger plans then you. I like those days.

*It was a great morning at Voice of Praise. During the summer you never know who will be home and who will be on vacation but most of the family was there as we continued our season of communion.

*The worship was as beautiful as the mountain morning. I’m proud of our praise and worship team. Whitney and Heath do a fantastic job as our only musicians right now and I’m amazed at how well they do such a tough job. They are worshipers and thats where it all starts.

*I’m my own worst critic so I won’t go into my thoughts on how I delivered the message but I will say that God gave me a simple yet powerful message and I hope it came through despite me.

*We looked at the story of Martha and Mary. We’re all familiar with it right? The one where Martha gets mad in the kitchen while Mary worships? The one where Jesus sets Martha straight and the next time we see her she is at Jesus’ feet next to Mary? Not quite. Thats the way I always saw it but we know that what really happened is Jesus helped Martha regain her focus back to what mattered. And when we see Martha about a year later, she’s still serving her guests at the table but now she is seeing it as worship and not work. And boy what a difference that attitude makes. Can I get an amen? Thank you….

*The point God gave me that sticks out is this: Don’t seek a Martha heart or a Mary heart….seek a Jesus heart. I love that.

*We took communion together and it was beautiful. It wasn’t ritualistic. Or robotic. Or complicated. It was just a beautiful time of remembrance.

*We ended the beautiful day looking out over the mountains from a scenic overlook as a local youth group sang “Hosanna”. Priceless….

Monday Morning Downloads

During this time of transition and change, a lot of things in our life are ending and lots of things are beginning. I realized yesterday though that some things are actually going to begin again during this season. One of those things is Monday Morning Downloads. So, beginning today, I will once again be dumping my thoughts onto this screen. Feel free to read them, ignore them or flee from them.

*It was a wild and wonderful weekend (West Virginia reference intentional). Friday was Jakey and Caleb’s last day of school at Branches. It was emotional and exciting. I started saying goodbye to the Branches kids last week and Friday was the final goodbye. “I wulll muss you Pathterr Jathun!”

*Saturday morning we rode over to my parents house in Buckingham to meet up with my brothers and their families. We celebrated some birthdays, grilled some burgers, deep fried some fish and skipped some rocks in the river. At some point in my life, while under anesthesia or some such truth inducing implement, I will talk about my cirque de soleil jump down the jumpee slide.

*That afternoon we made our now weekly trek to West Virginia. I like the trip. A Harley Davidson trike tried to assassinate me but my Matrix style reflexes saved all of us and him. #kamikazetrikeattack

*We spent the night in Princeton. Everyone went swimming in hot water. What a great way to cool off on a summer night.

*One of my goals with this blog is to be transparent. As transparent as possible at least. I believe some people use transparency as an excuse to say shocking things to people, but I try to be open and transparent because it could help others who share the same struggles and worries I do. But there is a balance and I try to maintain that. On that note, I will admit that Sunday morning started out rough. Very rough. Every thing that could go wrong did. By 8:45 it was so bad that I sent a message back to Tommy at Tree and asked him to intercede in prayer for us. Right in the middle of the worst of it I got an email from Pastor reminding me that my strength comes from God and is found only in Him. Good timing.

*Within minutes, things turned around and we had a fantastic morning. The service was awesome in my opinion. Its amazing what God does when you let Him.

*We started our new series yesterday. “Entourage: A Look At The Men and Women Who Followed Jesus.” Its my prayer that this series will speak directly to each of us as we explore what our personal journeys with Christ look like.

*I will post some notes from the message on here in a few days. Tune back in for those if you want them.

*The worship was amazing yesterday. The excitement level was high. It was all focused on Him. I got lost in it.

*We’re missing Lynchburg and Tree of Life badly but we couldn’t ask for a better new church home. I don’t have the words to express how thankful I am for how we’ve been welcomed in West Virginia. Over the next few weeks we will begin to make it our home.

*Speaking of home, we signed a lease on our new house in Bluefield, WV. Its near a purple Mexican restaurant. Enough said

*After signing the lease at 1pm we were gonna head home but something happened which we will now refer to only as “the incident” and we got home at about midnight. #kgbsecretagentypesecret

*Thanks for checking in. Go be dangerous.

Jaaaasonnnnn! You got some splainin to dooooo…..

So as many of you know, we announced to Tree of Life yesterday that we would be moving to West Virginia to help lead a church in need of a Senior Pastor. Naturally, this has led to a lot of questions. I’d like to take some time now to answer some of those questions and hopefully bring us all on the same page in this new chapter of God’s story for our family.

*Question: How long have you been looking for another job? Answer: I wasn’t looking for another job. The Executive Pastor position at Tree of Life was my dream job. It really was. I got to work for the church I’ve been a member of for fifteen years. I got to serve alongside a Pastor who is a great leader and a great man of God. He loves me and I love him. He taught me every thing I know about ministry and he has been more than generous to me by letting me see why he does what he does and how he does it. I was challenged and stretched and comfortable and elated and excited and frustrated and scared and happy and sad and just about every emotion you can imagine while serving in that role. I was never bored and I NEVER woke up not wanting to go to work. I wasn’t looking for another job.

*Question: Were you looking for another church? Answer: Building on the above answer, the answer to this question is no. Starting in October, God had begun to challenge us on whether or not we would be willing to move for Him and I will be honest, the answer was no. He had to bring me and mature me to the point where I would say “Yes God, I will go where you send me.” During that season other churches were available or offered but they were never a reality and they were never where we were supposed to go. When we were approached by our Bishop with the opportunity to apply for the position at Voice of Praise, our initial reaction was no. I didn’t even have a resume. I had no need for one. But God began to speak to us and over time we knew without a doubt. Without any doubt, that Voice of Praise was where we were supposed to be. Did it break our hearts? Yes. I’m typing this with tears on my keyboard. But we knew beyond a doubt that we were to move to West Virginia and shepherd this flock. Almost immediately we fell in love with the people of Voice of Praise and that love has grown for them everyday since.

*Question: How can you be sure this is the right move for your family? Answer: This is one that I don’t mind answering more in depth one on one, but let me take a stab at it. All along this journey,we have been consistently praying and we’ve had people praying for us. In addition to that, Misty and I created “stops” where we stopped and prayed and asked God to direct us. “Do we keep going forward Lord, or do we stop?” We did this at several points and He never said “stop”. Each time, we followed Him forward. In addition to that, keep in mind there are two sides to this coin. On our side of the coin we were praying ourselves, and we had our Pastor praying for us, along with people we love and trust. On the Voice of Praise side of the coin, they had a Godly search committee and they, along with the congregation, saturated the Pastoral search process with prayer. They also had the Bishop praying for them and for us. And when the dust settled, we were all on the same page and in the same place. That’s how I am sure.

*Question: How involved was Pastor Mike in this process? (I’ve gotten several versions of this question, many of which asked if we had to do it behind his back or if he took a hands off approach). Answer: Pastor Mike was involved in this process even before I was. Our Bishop asked his permission to speak to me (which is the protocol within our denomination) and Pastor Mike of course granted that. Pastor Mike then called me and told me what was going on and we both began to pray. All along this journey I have been honest with him and he has been approachable and honest and helpful to me. I never doubted he would. He and his wife Debie have been NOTHING BUT GOOD to me. I cannot stress that enough. They have walked with me every step of the way. Not because Pastor Mike demanded that, but because I wanted him to be. Every letter, phone call and meeting, they knew about and allowed. I never felt held back or hindered. They stressed that they loved me and that my job was safe as I followed God. Mike Dodson pastored me and my family through this entire process and I couldn’t have asked for more from him. I was not pushed out and I was not held back. As a Pastor, thats a hard balance to hold, but Pastor Mike held that balance and I will be forever grateful.

Question: When are you leaving? Answer: We are moving after school lets out in mid-June but we will be at Voice of Praise every Sunday, starting now. I will be making many trips throughout the weeks to come and I am already immersed in sermon studies and weekly planning. I was voted in as the Pastor on May 15th and I immediately had responsibilities that came with the role. My office hours ended with Tree of Life last week and I will preach my final sermon at Tree of Life this Wednesday evening at 7pm.

Question: Where is Voice of Praise Worship Center? Answer: In a beautiful little town called “Bluewell”. Its right outside of Bluefield, WV and right down the road from Princeton, WV. Its a nice three hour drive from Lynchburg.

Question: Is it true that a family is moving with you? Answer: Yes. The Malachowskys are moving with us. Over the years, the Malachowskys have become more than friends to us. They are part of our family. We love them and they love us. When the possibility arose that we might be moving it was just a natural thing that they would go with us. It sounds simple, and it really was as simple as that. They are a major part of our lives and they will continue to be. They will also be a great blessing and help to us during this new season at Voice of Praise.

Okay, so these were the big ones. I may tackle a few more later in the week, but for now, hopefully this will let you know what to pray about for our family.

Friday Five Bonus

Here’s a bonus video. My grandaddy was a coal miner. This is for him…

Friday Five

For #1, I had to choose my church’s choir… ENJOY!!!

Friday Five

Here’s #2. I don’t agree with everything Shannon O’Dell says or does, but there ain’t many people that I agree with on every level. I do love his vision. See what you think.

Friday Five

Lets kick it old school for #3. Who’s Line Is It Anyway?

Friday Five

Here is #4. This song means a lot to me. Some of the lyrics are profound. Enjoy…

Friday Five

For today’s Friday Five, I’ve chosen 5 youtube videos that are worth watching. One or two might be funny. One or two might be thought provoking or spiritually uplifting. They wont be in any particular order. Hope you like them.

Here’s #5

On The Road (3rd leg)

Oklahoma City OK to Amarillo TX.

We left early this morning since a herd of boll weevelish types hit the Continental breakfast BEFORE we got to it and there was no reason to linger in the burnt toast ambience filled lobby. Wyatt Earp was disarmed this morning.

The Oklahoma landscape was unique. We saw mountains, plains, windmills, refineries, cows, casinos and oil wells. Indian casinos.

Don’t even let me blog down that road.

We crossed over into Texas by noon and rolled right into a Texas town called Shamrock. Brandy would have loved it…if she didn’t hate Texas. Every building had a clover on it.

Within a few hours we hit Amarillo and within minutes of hitting Amarillo we hit Whataburger. Man! What a burger!

The best way to sum up the three legs of our trip out here is to say that God blesses very step of every leg. He guided us, loved us and protected us.

What about tomorrow? Tomorrow we talk about Amarillo…