I was given this book by one of my church members.  I read it in one afternoon, a few short snippets at a time.  It is a very short simple book that gives some practical advice on time management.  

More than anything else the book is inspiring.  Amy Jones the author has a compelling story.  After her husband mysteriously disappeared from her life (he resurfaced but was not interested in continuing the marriage) Amy picked up the pieces, made a new plan, and moved on with life.  Amy was a dynamic Christian that God called home this past summer after a bought with cancer.

The most inspiring part of the book is the story she tells about her own father who discovered at the age of 55 that he had cancer.  He called his kids together to inform them.  He told them that for several nights he had been staying awake wondering how much time he had left.  Finally, earlier that morning God had spoken to Him and said, “Enough.” 

Amy share how much her father accomplished in the few months he had remaining in his life.  She later followed his advice and in his footsteps.

As is the case with most books this size, you question paying $15 for a book that only takes 30 minutes to read.  Fortunately for me, the book was a gift from a friend and a much appreciated gift at that.

John graduated from Baylor in December.  He is now working for Americorp with thier Community In Schools program.  He mentors and tutors students at Brook Ave. Elementary in Waco.  He was already working with some of the kids there so now he just gets to do it full time and get paid.  Please pray that God will continue to use him to make a difference in the lives of these kids.  Most of them are from really difficult family situations.  Their only hope is that someone will intervene in their lives and help them find direction.

Last weekend we went to the Baylor football game with John and two of his guys, Gederion and Stemarcus.  We had a blast with them and just marvaled at John's patience with them.  He is getting some great training for being a parent.  I am so proud of John.  He is so very passionate about helping those who are less fortunate.  God is using him in a powerful way.

Thank you for praying for John. 

I read this book to get ready for our recent series, Homelife.  I read the original Boundaries book years ago.  Boundaries with Kids is a great book for parents.  We used many of these principles and they worked.  Most of it is common sense but I find that many parents lack common sense when it comes to parenting.  When I taught on this at the church many of the parents found the barriers to boundaries very helpful as well as some of the other insight I shared from this book.

The good news for parents today - there are many great resources at their fingertips to help them with thier task.  This is one of them.

Since I am almost done parenting to some degree - my youngest is 16, I read this book mainly for our recent series at church, Homelife.  I read the original book, Boundaries by these authors years ago.  Let me sum up this book by saying it is a great book for parents to read.  We implemented many of the principles in this book even without having read it and they worked.

Many times when

Yesterday was the one year anniversary of our fist weekly Sunday morning service.  We started our two public services.  OUr attendance was 179 which is the highest attendance we have had other than Easter.  To put it in perspective, there was a Sunday last fall when we had 88 in attendance. 

It was a great day as many new people stepped up to serve.  We also started our Sunday morning youth program led by Jon and Kathy Brooks.

This has been the most amazing and rewarding year of 27 years of ministry for Pat and me.  We cannot wait to see what the future holds for Fellowship of the Parks Grapevine.

Do you struggle to have a consistent quiet time each day that lasts 2 hours?  Are you intimidated by those people who say they do?  If so, join the club because so does the author of this book, Doug Fields.  Doug is an associate pastor at Saddleback Community Church.  After years of giving it another shot. Doug decided he was just not wound up to have a long, consistent “quiet” time with the Lord each day.

Doug does a great job of helping us to see that we can connect with God on a consistent basis even if we don’t get up an hour early each day to do so.  In this very short book, he encourages Christians to connect with God throughout the day by taking three simple steps – Stop, Be Quiet, Connect.  Theses are mini-breaks in the day that may take place in your car or waiting the check out line.  Much like stopping your car to refuel, you will be able to refuel your soul through this process.

As I mentioned, this is a very short book.  I highly recommend it for those who are looking to have a stronger connection with God but may struggle in how to make that happen.

Going to the game tonight.  It has been a while since Ranger fans have been able to go to a game in September that really mattered.  This team may fade out of contention but you have to love'em.  In all my years of watching the Rangers,  I don't ever recall a team with so much youth and potential.  Even if we don't make it this year there is something to look forward to next year and the years to come.  For Ranger fans it has been a long time coming.