In Forgotten God, Francis Chan reminds us about the importance of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers.  I totally agree with him that little is taught today in many churches regarding the Holy Spirit.  He is truly the forgotten God. 

This book is a good read for a new believer.  It is simple and avoids some of the stickier issues regarding the Holy Spirit while sticking to the basics of His role in our lives.  The best part of the book, for me were the short inspiring real life stories that followed each chapter.

While the book is a good read for the new believer, for the more mature believer it may be a little boring.   Hopefully, those who have been Christ followers for some time have a basic understanding of the Holy Spirit and how He operates.  That being said, I think there are more people who could benefit from reading this book than those who would find it boring.

I have to admit that when I read Crazy Love by Chan, I was not blown away by it.  I did find others who just loved the book.  I think the same could be true about The Forgotten God.

I actually read this book a few years ago but reread it recently.  I recalled a story from the book that I wanted to use as a sermon illustration. I had given my copy of the book away so I ordered another.  Originally I found the book in a Kinko’s when I was waiting for some copies to be made.  It was one of those books that after reading a few pages, I knew I would enjoy it.

Unstoppable is made up of 45 stories of people who beat the odds through perseverance and determination.  The stories are not written from a Christian perspective but some contain elements of Christianity in them.  For instance, my favorite story (the one I used in the sermon) was the story of Legson Kayira who left his home in east Africa with only a Bible and a copy of Pilgrims Progress to walk 3,000 miles to get on a boat to the U.S. to attend college.  On the way he contacted Skagit Valley College in Mount Vernon, Washington.  They offered him a full scholarship.  By the time he reached his destination the students had raised the money for his trip to the U.S.  He eventually became a professor of political science at Cambridge.

The story of Millard Fuller was equally inspiring.  At the age of thirty he had become a millionaire and set his sites on making 10 million dollars.  His dream was shattered when his wife announced that she was taking their two children and leaving.  After begging her to stay and putting his faith first in his life, they sold everything they had and moved to Americus, Georgia to work at a farm for the needy called Konania.  Later on a mission, trip to Africa with Clarence Jordan the founder of Konania, the Fullers were used to help build houses for the needy.  Once they returned God gave Millard Fuller a vision for what is now known at Habitat For Humanity.  I googled Millard Fuller and found out he went home to be with the Lord last year.

This is just a taste of a great book that will inspire you to take life to a new level.

It has been a while since I posted anything regarding our new church campus.  Today we had our all time high attendance with 193.  In about 18 months we have gone from a handful of people in my living room to this vibrant church that is reaching people with the good news of the gospel.  One couple that recently got saved told me today how amazed they are at the cahnges taking place in thier lives. 

One of the things I love most about FOTP Grapevine is that the people practice extraordinary generosity.  Last year we combined witht the Keller campus to provide over 460 pairs of new shoes for the 300 foster children in Tarrant County.  We also provided (who knows how many) teddy bears for the national adoption day.  We planted our fist ever community garden.  In addition, our contributions exceeded our budget and we gave $90,000 to our Live It Forward building fund.

Combined with the Keller campus we had well over 2000 people in attendance today.  Threee years ago on our first Sunday at FOTP, there were 1,200 in attendance.Read the following recently and it reminded me of FOTP:

"But when believers live in the power of the Spirit, the evidence in thier lives is supernatural.  The church cannot help but be different, and the world cannot help but notice." - Francis Chan author of Forgotten God

This is the follow up book to one of my all-time favorite books Same Kind of Different as Me.  Many of you no doubt have read Same Kind of Different which is the unlikely friendship that develops between a art dealer and an illiterate homeless man.

This book continues the story by looking at the countless lives that have been touched by Same Kind Of Different.   You will read the story of a woman in New York who picks up a copy of the book in a library.  She called her brother in Pasco, Washington to tell him about the book.  He is a pastor and decided to do a sermon series on the book.  Many people in his congregation bought the book.  One lady read the book and left it on her nightstand.  She and her husband were on the brink of divorce.  One day he picked up the book and confessed that he had been involved in an affair.  She decided to forgive him just as Deborah had forgiven Ron.  A marriage was saved.

What Difference Do It Make will inspire you to continue to embrace the simple arithmetic of Deborah’s life – loving God means loving people, and loving people means making a difference for God.

Christmas is my favorite time of the year.  Being a resident of Grapevine, I am proud of our city's celebration of Christmas.  Downtown Grapevine reminds me of Bedford Falls in my all-time favorite movie, It's A Wonderful Life.  If you haven't seen the light show at the gazebo area in downtown you need to check it out.  It takes place ever half hour.  Pat and I went to the musical presentation, I'll Be Home for Christmas at the Grapevine Opry.  It was a lot of fun.  Tonight we went to the airport and welcomed home some of our troops.  We had talked about doing this for months but just now got around to doing it.  If you haven't ever taken part in this check out the website for info. http://dfwairport.com/heroes/index.php

Tomorrow night we will have our first ever Christmas eve service at Fellowship of the Parks Grapevine.  I feel so very blessed to get to celebrate this special occasion with these incredible people.  Our service will be at 5 at Faith Christian School located at 730 E. Worth Street in Grapevine.

 The best part of Christmas is spending time with Pat and the kids - John, Jenilee and Caroline.  Having grown up in a single parent home, I dreamed of having a family to and celebrating Christmas together.   Now I get to live the dream.  I am blessed.

I have read several of Miller's books in the past and because he is somewhat abstract in his thinking, I have had a hard time connecting with his writing.  This was not the case with this book.  Having grown up without a father, I could relate to the message of this book.  At one point he speaks about being around men and their sons and feeling like thier was a men's club that he did not belong to.   I remember that feeling but had never really idnetified exactly what it was.

It was inspiring to hear the story about how he was floundering when he saw an interview on TV that changed his life.  the man being interviewed taught kids who were struggling in life to play chess.  The result was that they learned the value of having a strategy and making right decisions.  Miller began to play chess while implementing what he was learning to his everyday life.  He had always wanted to publish a book and a few weeks later he had his first book contract.  Today, he is one of the most popular Christian writers.

If there was any downside to this book, it is simply that he does not make a strong appeal to young men to put thier faith in Christ.  He does not focus much on the life-transforming power of Christ.  While he foucses much of his attention on God, there is no clear cut explanation of how to have a relationship with God.  I always get the feeling that his beliefs in regards to man's lostness and need for salvation do not line up with mine.

Even though I have some theological concerns, this is still a great book for those who have grown up without a father.  It will help you get  grip on some of your struggles, make you laugh and in the end inspire you to be all that God intended you to be.

This book by Dr. Joan Borysenko is a short easy to read guide to help you develop an "I can do" attitude about life.  It is not written from a Christian perspective but is full of solid principles and inspiring stories. 

I found it helpful to learn about what studies have revealed about resilient people.   One study determined that these people share three common characteristics - a stuanch acceptance of reality, a belief that life has meaning and a willingness to improvise.

Dr. Borysenko points out that life is a duality meaning that when one thing goes down, another thing goes up.  For instance, when the housing market came crashing down while it was a negative for those selling houses, it was a huge plus for those who were buying.  One of the keys to being resilient is seeing the positive side of the duality of life.

Here are some of my faovorite quotes from the book:

"The moment you accept the troubles you have been given the door opens."

"We are all in the gutter but some of us are looking at the stars." - Oscar Wilde

"Those who have a 'why' to live for can bear almost any 'how'."

I nejoyed this book.  I found it to be inspiring and informative. 

Zig Ziglar is recognized as one of the greatest motivational speakers of our times.  He has a unique delivery and an energy that is captivating.  I have read several of his other books.  This book was inspired as a result of an accident which has left him having lost a good portion of his short term memory.  This has altered his career in that now his daughter travels with him and interviews him in front of audiences since he can no longer speak the way he has in the past.

Zig’s accident took place one night when he got up in the middle of the night to write something down.  He tripped on his stairway and fell down the entire stairway landing with a hard blow to the head on the marble floor entryway to his house.  I found this interesting because I have a tendency to get up in the middle of the night with some of my best thoughts.  I too will often get up to write them down but have become very cautious about climbing the stairs since reading the book.

I am sure for some this book will help them to embrace the challenges they face in their lives but it was not a book that really touched my life.  I only read half of it but at that point, I had not really gleaned much from the book that was memorable.  I know for those die-hard Zig Ziglar fans that is hard to believe.  Based on that I can’t say I recommend the book but for some I am sure they will find it a great read.

This afternoon several members of FOTP Grapevine went out into the neighborhood to introduce ourselves and to see if any of our neighbors had prayer concerns.  I have to admit that I love doing this sort of thing.  I know for some people it would be way out of their comfort zone but it energizes me.  The first door I knocked on was answered by a lady who told me that she had lost her job this week after 11 years with the same company.  Two doors later, I visited with a lady who lost her husband a year ago.  On other lady apologized for not inviting me in but she had the flu. 

There was one house I skipped because there was a very unfriendly dog in a not so safe looking fence.  I felt badly because somehow I knew that perhaps the people needed a visit.  When I walked back by the house a man was coming out.  As it turns out he and his family are interested in attending our church.  His daughter has been looking for a youth group. 

We took the prayer requests back to the church and will be lifting them up.  I am always reminded that most people would say that people don't like folks knocking on their doors and trying to approach them but my experience has always been just the opposite.  Almost 40% of the people in America describe themselves as being lonely and the American Oxford Dictionary just voted "unfriend" as the word of the year.  The fact is that people are open to those who show an genuine interest in their lives and struggles.

Saturday a member of FOTP Grapevine called me to let me know that a man she worked with had been taken to Harris Hospital in dwontown Fort Worth. He was bleeding internally and the doctors only gave him a 50% chance of living.  She (Cathy) asked if I would pray for her friend Marty and go see him.  She also informed me that her boss who is not a believer would no longer let her off on Sunday mornings so she could go to church.  I prayed for Marty and her situation at work. 

I headed to Harris Hospital and had a chance to visit with Marty.  I shared the gospel with him and he was so ready to commit his life to Christ.  His mother attends a church regularly and I am sure had been praying for him.  It just reminded me again of the joy of seeing others realize thier need for grace and God's desire to extend grace to them.

On Sunday, Cathy showed up for church.  It seems just a few hours after we prayed that he boss called her to let her know she could start coming in later so she could attend church.

God is amazing!