"When we fall out of love - out of this giddy wonderful period - it's partly because we run out of energy to be continually fascinated." - Mark Galli author of Jesus Mean and Wild - The Unexpected Love of an Untamable God

I read this book last year.  It is not one of those must reads that you tell everyone about but it was more than worth the effort.  I just picked it up again the other day and skimmed the underline portions of the book.  This is one of the ways I like to reflect on what I read and also a good indicator of how applicable the book was for me.  Many pages without anything underlined is not a good sign.  That was not the case with this book.

There were many passages that were thought provoking.  They inspired me to want to live passionately for God or helped me realize I had not been doing so.  The above quote was one of many of those passages. Here is another:

"Prayer, when pracitced with utmost attention, does strange things to people because deep prayer is nothing less than an encounter with the living God."

I shared some time back that I keep a thought journal.  It is simply a notebook where I record thoughts, quotes, stories and such that I want to remember.  I don't record things in it daily and may go for days without doing so but it has proven to be very helful.

Recently, I also began to use my phone (Blackberry) as a thought journal.  Using the Applications mode works well.  I also use Applications to record scirpture that I am memorizing.  When I am waiting somewhere like the doctor's office I will review my thoughts and scripture.

So today I entered this one from a book I am reading:

You never get a second chance to make a first impression.

I am sure that one has been around for a while and most of you have heard it but it was new to me.  It is one I don't want to forget.

In his book Life Is a Series of Presentations, author Tony Jeary points out that life is a series of interactions with people. Our success in life depends on how we approach the millions of opportunities before us.

you get traded to another team in exchange for 10 bats.  That is exactly what happened to minor league baseball player, John Odom.

Check it out at http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/8170920?MSNHPHCP&GT1=39002

Why a New Church is going to be the title of my message at the preview service of FOTP Grapevine on July 27.  There are many resons why we need new churches.  I was reminded of that when I read the following quote:

"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about the things that matter." - Martin Luther King Jr.

We need more churches speaking about the things that matter.  People need to know about grace, forgiveness, God's unconditional love and that they can have a second chance at life.  They need to know that God's grace can take a life headed in the worng direction in so many ways, transform it resulting in someone with the greatest wife in the world and three kids who are amazing in more ways than can be counted. I know because that is what I have experienced.  People need to know that if life come apart at the seams resulting in a divorce that God can give them the grace to live a fulfilling life and that their kids can still experience a vibrant relationship with Christ.  I know because I have seen more than one of my firends experience that type of grace.  People need to know that if life deals them the worst of all blows, the death of a child, that God's grace is sufficient to see them through.  I have had the rare privilege of seeing people handle this painful situation with their eyes on Christ.

I agree with the quote above that we begin to die when we become silent about the things that matter.  I pray that I will be able to lead FOTP Grpaevine in such a way that we never become silent about God's love and forgiveness and all the things that really matter.

Hey, I had a "Life Comes At You Fast" moment this week.  I was at red light behind an eighteen wheel truck when the driver decided to back up to turn in to a parking lot to our left inorder to turn around.   He did not see my car so he began backing straight toward me. I glanced in my mirror and put my car in reverse but could not back up fast enough. He hit the front of my car and proceededto push it about 15 feet as I honked my horn. Finally he stopped. It did minor damage to my car.

 All of that to say that it gave me a great story and illustration for my message this week at FOTP on busyness.  I will be speaking at all four services 8:30, 9:45, 11 and12:15. 

This week as I prepared to speak this Sunday at FOTP, I was reminded of how much I love this book when I looked for an illustration in it and dsicovered how worn the pages were.  Max Lucado the author is one of my all-time favorites.  I have to admit after you have read several of his books (I counted 12 on my bookshelves and am sure I missed some) they tend to run together. I will never forget reading my fist Max Lucado book and being totally captivated.  His style will not apeal to everyone but his style of writing is so similar to my style of speaking that there was an immediate connection.

All of his books are easy to read.  You can read a chapter or two and put the book down for a few days and come back read some more.  Most of his books including this one are filled with short true stories that help you love God more than you did before you read them.

This particular book has some great stories that I have told and read to many people in many settings.  My favorite chapters are When Fishermen Don't Fish, Thanks for the Bread and the one I will share this Sunday - Joy in the Journey.

I did not realize how old this book was.  It was written in 1991 but it is still a great book to read.  I have to include it on my all-time favorite list.

Max Lucado has touched many lives including mine.  I was in San Antonio recently and visited the church he pastors but he was not there that weekend.  It was just a blessing to be there.

Check this out and all I've got to say is that it is a good thing he did not have jock itch. 

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/051408dnmetitch.f81a31c3.html

We all get a jillion of these but some of them are  worth passing on.  This is one of them.  It is such a great example of the power of one person to touch the world today as a result of modern technology.  Some of  you will neeed to have the tissue handy. 

http://www.godtube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=1704b4c7e1bd1534f0ce

This book is written by Ken Gire.  I have read some of his other books.  He is oneof my favorite authors.  He is very transparent and has a way of making me fall on love with the Lord all over again.

The book is all about a God who dances. It was inspired by a quote from Fredirch Nietzsche, the German philosopher who popularized the "God is dead" movement.  He once said, "If these Christians want me to believe in their god, they'll have to sing better songs, they'll have to look more like people who have been saved, they'll have to wear on their countenance the joy of the beatitudes.  I could only believ in a god who dances."

Gire points out that one of the terms used to describe God's love for us is - the dance.  He cites the story of the prodigal son story and the fact that the jealous brother stood outsde and heard music and dancing. 

"We feel the music of the dance when Jesus' longing for us and our longing for him meet in a moment of embrace, which is not only a trascendant moment, but one that often evokes tears." - Ken Gire

Leaving our comfort zone to start a new church campus is a risk.  It is venture into the unknown.  Will we have 200 attend the first service or 20? It is all in God's hands and we trust him but being out on a limb with God is the most thrilling place in the world.

"I think perfectionism is based on the obsessive belief that if you run carefully enough, hitting each stepping stone just right, you won't have to die.  The truth is that you will die anyway and that a lot of people who aren't even looking at their feet are going to do a whole lot better than you and have a lot more fun while they're doing it." - Ann Lamont author of Bird by Bird