I’ve just begun testing Windows 7 on a few of our computers at Grace Family Church and as a part of the configuration process I install our anti-virus software, Sophos.  The Sophos client can be pushed to the machine from the Sophos Enterprise Console on our central anti-virus server.  The issue I have ran into is that the client would not install; it kept failing.

Sophos support was very helpful in referring me to KB29287 on their support site.

In a nutshell, on each Windows 7 client, you need to make sure that the following services are running in order for the remote install process to work:

1. Computer Browser
2. Remote Registry
3. Server
4. Task Scheduler
5. Workstation
6. Windows Installer

I hope that this saves you some time in the future when installing Sophos on a Windows 7 client.

Today, I had the pleasure of migrating a user from a MacBook to a MacBookPro.  Apple includes this cool tool call  the “Migration Utility” which allows you to link the old and new computer together either by firewire or ethernet and then transfer all Applications, Documents, Settings, etc. from the old to the new.

After completing the transfer process, I was having issues updating a few applications and accessing files in the user’s Home Folder on the new computer.  After some research, I discovered that these issues are usually caused by permission issues.  I opened Disk Utility to Verify and Repair Permissions on the disk but to no avail. I was still having issues.

Then, I stumbled across this a post that suggested  removing the ACL’s (Access Control Lists) and restoring them.  Here is how I did that:

1. Login as the user having issues and open the Terminal.app in the Utilities folder
2. Type the following command and hit enter:    sudo chmod -RN ~
3. You will be prompted for a password, enter it and hit enter
4. Type the following command (pay attention to the correct symbols) and hit enter:   sudo chown -R `id -un`
5. Reboot your computer from your Install disk (Leopard or Snow Leopard dvd) by making sure the dvd is in the drive and holding “C” down while booting the computer.
6. Select your language and continue
7. At the top of the screen, select “Utilities” and then “Reset Password”
8. Select the username that you want to reset the ACL’s and then click the option to do so in the lower right corner.
9. Reboot the computer upon completion.

Permission issues resolved!

As “spoken” by my wife, April, at her Grandmother’s funeral on 7/29/09.  Olive Shawley 1/20/19-7/25/09 (Celebrating 90 years!)

——————————————

I have always felt that I needed to speak at my gram’s funeral but never knew what I was going to say.  We all know how great she was so what more do I have to add?  Well, the morning gram passed, I got a couple hours of sleep and during that time, the Lord spoke to me with a perfect description of my Gram.  She’s the quote OLIVE tree unquote for so many of us.

Did you know that the word Olive is mentioned over 30 times in the Bible.

In Nehemiah 8:15 God’s word says:

and that they (they being children) should publish and proclaim in all their cities, and in Jerusalem, saying, Go forth unto the mount, and fetch olive branches, and branches of wild olive, and myrtle branches, and palm branches, and branches of thick trees, to make booths, as it is written.

An Olive branch is used to provide shelter.

In Romans 11:17

An olive tree provides nourishment

In Leviticus 24:2

Olives were used to make oil for lamps which provides light in darkness.

In Hosea 14:6

6 his young shoots will grow. His splendor will be like an olive tree,

An olive tree is beautiful.

Do you see the similarities between what God’s word has to say about an Olive and my Gram whose name just so happens to be Olive.  Maybe I’m stretching it a bit but our Olive has provided to each and everyone of us in one way or another shelter and nourishment, and has always been a beautiful light inside and out!  I think we all have experienced Gram’s shelter whether by sitting in the warmth of her kitchen or coolin’ off on her porch.  And while we’re warming up, cooling off or simply taking a break from working the farm she’s handing you a drink (coffee, iced tea, lemonade, or Pepsi), and a snack: a cookie, chips, a sliver of pie,  a dish of ice cream, a bowl of cantalope, peanut butter fudge, a slice of date nut roll.  Or how about when she’s had you over for dinner:  pig stomach, homemade pot pie, roast beef or  roast a chicken, a ham and her most recent “Hoagie’s from Jack’s”.  BUT wait, don’t forget all the trimmings:  mashed taties, fried taties, baked mac & cheese, baked beans, peas, corn, green beans, a salad, fruit salad, and her delicious homemade coleslaw.  Dare I mention dessert: apple pie, cherry pie, rhubarb pie, & homemade grapenut ice cream.

I also want to talk about how beautiful Gram was.  She always took great pride in looking so beautiful regardless of staying home or going out.  “You never know when someone might stop in for a visit” she’d say.  As well, she would never leave home w/out a necklace, earrings, watch and rings and don’t forget about her perfect hair that she would fuss about.  I have never seen any other 90 year old lady with her natural hair color.  That’s one of the many genes I’m hoping to be blessed with.

Over the years, the olive has been the symbol of peace, wisdom, glory,  and pureness. Did you know that the meaning of Olive means “fruit of the olive tree.”  Who would have known that when named as a baby Olive would grow into her name.  She had the heart of a servant who never complained.  I can’t really remember a time where she’s ever complained about having to do anything, like cooking, cleaning, doing her wash, caring for her children and grandchildren (who would run through the house leaving a trail of dirt beginning at one door and going out the other), or even her husband who she was married to for 65 years and brother-in-law Harold who lived with them for over 30 years.  She had a way of caring for everyone and making you feel so special while in her presence.  .

As I look around at who is here today, I know there isn’t one of us who my Gram hasn’t provided for in someway, shape, or fashion.   Did you know an olive tree is timeless.  It lives on for many many years and so will the legacy that my Grandmother, your mother, your mother-in-law, your aunt, your cousin, your friend is leaving behind for us.

Looking back over these characteristics of Gram, I see Christ.  Christ is a provider of shelter & nourishment, he provides light in dark times, he is beautiful, he is full of peace, wisdom, glory, pureness, and HE certainly doesn’t complain.  I have no doubt that Olive knows Christ.  It’s through Christ and knowing him as our personal Lord & savior, we have access to what Gram had and we can strive for the same goal of glorifying God.  I know Gram would want everyone to know Christ as she did.  Let me take a moment to share with you how that can happen.  There is only one way to heaven and that way is through a personal relationship with Christ who died on the cross, conquered death, so that we can be forgiven of our sins and live with Him in heaven forever.  This is God’s FREE gift two you.  Receive it today and have eternal life.

Let’s pray:

God, I thank you for your gift of Olive Shawley to us and that we as believers will see her again in heaven.  Father if there is anyone here that doesn’t know you and wants to have eternal life like Gram has I ask that they take a moment now and confess that they are a sinner and ask you to come into their life.

Thank you for a godly woman who reflects your glory leading others to you.  What an honor and privilege it has been to be a part of her life.  Thank you for her warmth and generosity that have blessed so many. Thank you for her show of strength right up to the day you took her home.    Thank you God for there was no suffering.  We place her in your hands, the hands that have healed her .  As your word declares in Revelation 21:4 You will wipe away every tear from her eye, and her death will not exist any more – she is not mourning, or crying, or in any pain, for these things have ceased to exist.”  God, I am a better person for having known her.   When you called her name, she willingly rose!

In your name, AMEN

This past Saturday, July 25, 2009, @ 1:30 a.m. my wife’s grandmother passed away.  We’ve spent this week at the family farm in Yarnell, PA taking care of family things, funeral stuff, and just hangin’ out.  The farm has been up for sale for a few months and it looks as if it will be sold by the end of August.

Because of the pending sale, April’s grandmother had already begun clearing “stuff” out of the farmhouse; beds, furniture, clothing, junk, etc.  Coming back to the farm this time and seeing the house empty, it just doesn’t feel right, it’s empty.  On top of that there’s something else missing – April’s Grandmother.  She’s there cooking breakfast, lunch, & dinner at precisely 8, 12, and 5 o’clock.  She’s not running outside with a cold drink.  She’s not baking pies or cakes.  There’s an empty feeling in this house because She is missing.

Olive Shawley will be missed.  She was a woman who took care of her family, friends and anyone else that happened to come along.  She lived a life of sacrifice, always putting others before herself.  As April said during the funeral service, her grandmother was a perfect example, or type, of Christ.  Just like when you look at the moon, you see a reflection of the sun; when you looked at Olive Shawley you saw a perfect reflection of Christ.

Gram is in Heaven, bowing before the Most Holy God worshiping without shame.  As I look around the empty farmhouse I am reminded that even though the house is empty, Gram was not.  She was full of Christ and exuded Love, Forgiveness, Patience, Care, Kindness, Self-Sacrifice, and on, and on…  I am reminded that “stuff” doesn’t matter.  You can’t take it with you to Heaven, right?  What matters is following Jesus.  Executing his will in your life.  Doing the things that Christ wants me to do.  Serving him with reckless abandon like Gram did.

What “stuff” do you have in your life?  What do you need to empty out in order to be full?  Is Christ a part of your life?  If not, take a look a this:  Two Ways to Live.  You too can be full: Full of Christ.  And the benefit is this: Eternity – You get to spend eternity with Him!

Gram – We Love you and miss you!

Thank you for the memories!

Thank you for being a perfect example of Christ to myself, April, and our girls, Kendyl and Logan!

This had me laughing out loud hysterically.  You must read this to the end and then answer the poll:

CLICK HERE TO READ

Then answer the poll questions:

Now, explain that talk in the comments.  Ready? GO!

It’s bedtime.  April asks Kendyl to brush her teeth.  Kendyl can’t find her toothbrush.  April asks “What did you do with it after you brushed your teeth this morning?”  Kendyl replies, “I don’t know.”

Kendyl lied about brushing her teeth this morning.  We know this because we found her toothbrush in her overnight bag which she brought home from her cousin’s last night.  Kendyl’s grounded.  Kendyl proceeds to have an “attitude” because she is grounded.  We pray with her, kiss her, tell her we love her, turn off the light and leave the room.

After five minutes, Kendyl appears at our door and asks for April and I each separately.  She grabs a hold of me, sobs, hugs, sobs, hugs harder.  I say, “I love you.”  Again I say, “I love you” and she replies back with the same words, sobbing and hugging tighter than before.  She’s forgiven.

What a beautiful moment.  A perfect picture of how God recieves us when we come back to him sobbing, knowing that we have done wrong by Him.  God is standing there, patiently waiting for us to run back into His wide-open arms, wanting us to collapse in them so that He can love on us.  Oh how He loves me… Oh how He loves you… Oh how He loves me and you…

Have you ever had one of those days?  You know, the kind where you get to the end and you wonder what you did?  That’s been my day today.  Logan was sick so I cuddled, soothed, and amused her at various times though the day.  Mama napped. I ran to the bookstore for nothing; they were out of the two books I was looking for. I spent all day on the computer: Twitter, Facebook, Ubuntu, blogs, etc.

So now I ask – what did I do today?  Did I waste my day?  How did I fulfill my purpose in God?  Did I fail Him?  Did I fail myself?

Or…

Was today what it supposed to be?  A time of cuddles. Catching up on reading.  Learning new technology.  Alone time at the book store.  Time spent in the Word.

Hmm… I guess it’s all perspective.  Wasteful or Productive?  That’s my question…

It’s official.  We, Grace Family Church (GFC), are moving to Fellowship One (F1) for our Church Management System (ChMS).

How did we come to this decision?

When I came to GFC last April, one of my tasks was to evaluate the state of I.T. within Grace Family Church.  This process included interviewing, every single staff member of GFC and I asked the following questions:

1. How do you use technology in your every day job here @ GFC?
2. What software do you use?
3. What “shadow systems” do you utilize (database/lists outside of our current ChMS)?
4. What works great? Why?
5. What’s broken? Why?
6. Dream Big: What do you wish Technology could help/assist you with in your job functinon?
7. How can I help you do your job effectively?

Over and over, the answer to question #5 was the name of our current ChMS provider.  But, why was it broken?

1. Users weren’t trained properly from the beginning.
2. The user interface is clumsy.
3. The reporting engine isn’t easy to figure out.
4. Too many clicks to do simple tasks.
5. User’s couldn’t remember how to do simple everyday tasks because of the number of steps to complete these tasks.

This led to questions that HAD to be answered: Can we continue to use our current ChMS?  Can we properly train everyone?  Is there a misperception of the ChMS?  Do we need to drop what we are using and start over with a new ChMS provider?

So began the search for answers.  I read manuals; I played with our current ChMS and tried to learn it from the top down all while also evaluating other systems that were available to us.  I quickly came to the conclusion that if I was having trouble learning how to use the ChMS, how could I expect my users to learn it?  Our current system was not going to cut it and we needed to move.

What were our requirements for a new ChMS?  In no particular order, the top ones included:

1. A web interface.
2. Easy to understand user interface.
3. An OUT OF THIS WORLD training program for our users.
4. Easy to administer (since I have to take care of that).
5. A reporting engine that the user can use to create reports.
6. A workflow process for tracking assimilation or other processes.
7. And, of course, able to keep our data safe.

I took my time researching options.  I payed particlar attention to Joel Lingenfelter’s blog where he was chronicaling his church’s journey on the search for a new ChMS.  His blog was truly a godsend for me.  He journaled every step in his search, making mine easier in the long run.  While I used his blog as a reference, I also talked to many, many other churches about what ChMS they were using, asking about their likes, dislikes, etc.

Eventually the choices were narrowed to two: Fellowship One, and Arena.  I dove into both.  I read their websites multiple times, had attended 2 demonstrations of each, and again, talked to MANY of their customers – not necessarily customers they referred me to, but customers I sought out on my own as well.  Of course, this process was also filled with prayer.  I had a real concern for the church and our finances.  I didn’t want to spend money on a product if it was not going to assist us in meeting our goals of Connecting our people to God, Others, Service, and Outreach.  If we were going to spend money, we needed to be good stewards as well.

Both ChMS’s are EXCELLENT and, quite frankly, going into our Board of Director’s meeting to make the presentation, the recommendation was going to be “either one” as the feeling was that the both would suit our needs.  BUT, as I was making the presentation, giving each a fair and equal shot, I came to the end where the recommendation was going to be “Choose One.”  At this point I really felt that God was telling me “Fellowship One”.  Huh?  That’s weird (even cool!).  Here I am in the middle of making a presentation and God is telling me to change my recommendation and choose Fellowship One.  I love the way God just intervenes when it’s time.

I know I’m not going into specifics as to why we selected Fellowship over Arena but in the end this is why God told us to go with Fellowship:

User Interface – I know this can sound corny, but God said that our users would get the most out of the Fellowship user interface.  Arena’s is FANTASTIC but our users will benefit most from the user interface that Fellowship One has to offer.  It is clear, clean, and concise and even self explanatory.

The Wall – Arena is a wholly owned subsidiary of our current ChMS provider, Shelby Systems.  God impressed upon me that there is a HUGE wall to climb with our users.  That wall was the link between Shelby and Arena.  Now, please don’t take what I am about say as a negative against Shelby.  I truly believe the reason Shelby is not working for us at GFC is because of it’s implementation.  Our leadership will say that Shelby was not implemented correctly and our users were not trained fully and properely from the “get go”.  Our leadership takes responsibility in this.  Where the wall comes in is here; our users have an extremely negative attitude towards Shelby and know that Arena and Shelby are the same company.  I know that the two products are completely different, but the end users don’t see it that way.  This wall is a HUGE hurdle for the GFC staff to overcome.  That being said, and I know God can overcome even the largest walls, this was one wall we needed to avoid.

I have to give props to the guys at Arena:  Mark White, Chris Rivers and Russell Byrd.  They did everything in their power to win our business and keep us within the Shelby Family.  They answered every question, stopped what they were doing in their days to assist me, and in the end they were gracious in defeat.

It’s clear that we are all in the business of winning souls for Christ, and in the same way people choose the church that best suits them, Grace Family also had to choose a ChMS that best suited us.  Mark, Chris, & Russell – Thank You!  Thank you for your time and your commitment to Grace Family Church throughout this process.  Just because we will not be partners in “Business” doesn’t mean we won’t continue to work together in expanding The Kingdom!

As for our future with Fellowship One, Grace Family Church is extremely excited!  We are ready to jump on board and look forward to doing ministry with you.  Thank you for all you have done for us Errol.  Thank you for going above and beyond during our selection process and hanging with us during our long decision process!

Finally, I look at the church as an Insurance Agency that specializes in Life Insurance, only this is the best life insurance that one can purchase.  We get to play a role in insuring AND ensuring The Eternal Life of the people throughout our communities.  The database is just a tool which allows us to better connect with our members and regular attenders.  It allows us to watch and enhance the Spiritual Growth of our people.  It also allows us to see who is not growing and even digressing in their walk, allowing us to pray, encourage, uplift, and pour into those that need a little extra attention.  The church is not the database, the database is the tool that allows us, the people to minister effectively to EVERYONE that is a part of GFC. The chruch IS the people.

A friend of mine frequently says, “We don’t have to, we get to”.  It is an honor to serve my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ and it’s my privelege to serve with guys like Mark, Chris, Russell, and Errol who all want nothing more than to win souls for Him!

Press on Guys – Let’s do the Kingdom’s work!

It happened to me today.  I was reading the online edition of the St. Petersburg Times this morning when I was brought to tears while I was reading the following Associated Press article:

High school basketball player misses free throws as a gift to a grieving player

The coach never considered any other option.

It didn’t matter that his DeKalb, Ill., High basketball team had ridden a bus 2½ hours to get to Milwaukee, then waited another hour past game time to play. Didn’t matter that the game was close or that this was a chance to beat a big city team.

Something else was on Dave Rohlman’s mind when he asked for a volunteer to shoot two free throws awarded his team on a technical foul in the second quarter. His senior captain raised his hand, ready to go. Only this time it was different.

“You realize you’re going to miss them, don’t you?” Rohlman said. Darius McNeal nodded. He knew what had to be done.

It was a Saturday night in February, and the Barbs were playing a nonconference game on the road against Milwaukee Madison. It was the third meeting between the schools, who were developing a friendly rivalry. The teams planned to get together after the game and share pizzas and soda. But the game almost never took place.

Hours earlier, the mother of Milwaukee Madison senior captain Johntell Franklin died at a hospital. Carlitha Franklin had been in remission after a five-year fight with cervical cancer, but she began to hemorrhage that morning while Johntell was taking his ACT exam.

Her son and several teammates were at the hospital that afternoon when the decision was made to turn off the life-support system. Carlitha was just 39.

“She was young and they were real close,” said his coach, Aaron Womack Jr., who was at the hospital. “He was very distraught and it happened so suddenly he didn’t have time to grieve.”

Womack was going to cancel the game, but Franklin told him he wanted the team to play. And play it did, though the game started late and the team dressed only eight players.

Early in the second quarter, Womack saw someone out of the corner of his eye. It was Franklin, who came directly from the hospital to root on his teammates. The Knights had possession, so Womack called timeout. His players went over and hugged their grieving teammate. Fans came out of the stands to do the same.

“We got back to playing … and I asked if he wanted to come and sit on the bench,” Womack said during a telephone interview.

“No,” Franklin replied. “I want to play.”

But since Franklin wasn’t on the pregame roster, putting him in meant drawing a technical foul, giving DeKalb two free throws. Though it was a tight game, Womack was willing to give up the two points.

Over on the other bench, though, Rohlman wasn’t so willing to take them. He told the referees to forget the technical and just let Franklin play.

“I could hear them arguing for five to seven minutes, saying, ‘We’re not taking it, we’re not taking it,’ ” Womack said. “The refs told them, ‘No, that’s the rule. You have to take them.’ “

That’s when Rohlman asked for volunteers, and McNeal’s hand went up.

He went alone to the free-throw line, dribbled a couple of times and looked at the rim. His first attempt went about 2 feet, bouncing a couple of times as it rolled toward the end line. The second barely left his hand.

It didn’t take long for the Milwaukee players to figure out what was going on. They stood, turned toward the DeKalb bench and started applauding the gesture of sportsmanship. Soon, so did everybody in the stands.

“I did it for the guy who lost his mom,” McNeal told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “It was the right thing to do.”

Franklin went on to score 10 points, and Milwaukee Madison won 62-47. Afterward, the teams went out for pizza, two players from each team sharing each pie.

Franklin stopped by briefly, thankful his team was there for him.

“I got kind of emotional, but it helped a lot just to play,” he said. “I felt like I had a lot of support out there.”

“This is something our kids will hold for a lifetime,” Rohlman said. “They may not remember our record 20 years from now, but they’ll remember what happened in that gym that night.”

What would happen if we all thought that way?  What if we all just did what was right?  What if we all concentrated on what really matters?  Just a thought…

Growing up in the 80’s, break dancing was “cool”, especially if you were wearing parachute pants while attempting to spin, break, pop, or whatever.  My bro used to take his boom box, prop it on his shoulder and head out to the front yard to make an attempt at displaying his “skills”.  I’m POSITIVE he was never able to do this:

Thanks bro for the memories of you breaking it down in the front yard on Harmony Drive!  You only wish you could dance like this…

I wanted to take a moment to give Glory to God for what he is already beginning to do in the life of Grow Life Church.  Pastor James Dodzweit is a former pastor at my church, Grace Family Church.  This morning there was an article in the Tampa Tribune about the launch of Pastor James’ new church.  You can check it out here. You can follow Grow Life Church on Twitter here.  Go James!  Go God!  Press On!

On this very day, 14 years ago, I married the love of my life.  The one who God graciously put in my life to be my life long soul mate.  My wife.  April Renee’ Gearhart Goodger.

I would have never thought that when my roommate and I invited 10 girls and 4 guys over for dinner on that night back in 1993 that each of us would have met our wives.  I didn’t even know that I was interested in her.  I walked her to her car that night and we ended up talking for what seemed like hours under the moonlit sky while leaning on her car.  I called frequently, asking her to do stuff with my group of friends.  There were “no’s” and there were “yes’s” until we found ourselves spending each night together after work, especially the nights Melrose Place and Beverly Hills 90210 were on TV.

The week before Thanksgiving, 1993, we were outside of April’s apartment saying goodbye when it happened.  She kissed me.  SHE kissed ME. SHE KISSED ME!  Sure I like her and thought that there was something there but that wasn’t my plan.  I was waiting until the next week when she was coming to my parents house for Thanksgiving – we were going to the beach for the sunset.  BUT April ruined those plans but the future was locked in from that moment on.  I knew in my heart that she was THE one.

Looking back over the years, we have been through a lot.  My dysfunctional family (it’s the truth, right?).  Her parents moving in with us 2 months after we were married.  My dad’s gambling habits.  My mom moving in with us.  Dad’s passing.  Kendyl’s birth.  Logan’s birth.  A dog (anyone want a dog?).  Our house (which now might have a sinkhole under it).

Through it all there has been one constant that never changes – God.  He has been and always will be at the center of our marriage.  I know full well that if God wasn’t a part of our marriage both of us would have probably bailed a long time ago.  I can only think of MAYBE 2 arguments we’ve had over the years but without God there would have been many more.

April, I try to love you just as Christ commands us in Ephesians 5:25-30

Husbands, love your wives just as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her to sanctify her by cleansing her with the washing of the water by the word, so that he may present the church to himself as glorious – not having a stain or wrinkle, or any such blemish, but holy and blameless. In the same way husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one has ever hated his own body but he feeds it and takes care of it, just as Christ also does the church, for we are members of his body.

God – allow me to exemplify this scripture.  Show me how to love my wife as Christ loved the church.  I don’t know how to do that.  You need to be my example.  You need to be my tutor, my mentor, my Father.  I thank You for the honor of being a husband and for trusting me to take care of your daughter, April.  Allow me to love her more each day.  I can’t wait to see what Your plans are for us in the next year, 5 years, 25 years, and the rest of our lives.  God my we, most of all, Glorify You, Exemplify You, and Honor You through our marriage.  In your name I pray. AMEN!

April – Thank you for putting up with me. Thank you for loving me.  Thank you for being the mother of our children (and our dog too, I guess).  Thank you for making my life complete.  I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!

I’ve been meaning to post since I first completed this exercise at the beginning of January.  No excuses – Just haven’t taken the time.  Read on…

This is an exercise that I did with my small group during our first meeting of 2009.  This is based upon a blog post written by Chris Brogan which you can find here.  In a nutshell the exercise goes like this:

1. Define Success – Think about how you want to be successful in 2009.  What might be some of your goals in specific terms. (Spend more one on one time w/ my family)
2. Broaden Your Thoughts – Look at the specifics in #1 and take a look at them from 10,000 feet.  What do they look like? (Spending more time with my family means that I’ll be able to engage more with them).
3. Extrapolate – Look at the broad view and find one word to hang on. (engage)

When choosing your words think about them in this way.  Do your words lead you toward your goal? Can your words get you started toward the goal?  Will the words still be relavant once you have almost reached the goal?

That being said, here are my 3 words for 2009.  I’ve included their definitions to help guide and direct me.  I’ve also left a blank for scriptures.  For whatever reason, I’m having a difficult time finding the right scriptures to apply to my 3 words.  Feel free to suggest some by leaving a comment:

Engage
Definition: To occupy oneself; become involved.

Scripture:

Engage with Family, Friends, and Aquaintances in a way that allows me to relate to them on a more personal level through initiating contact, activities, and growth opportunities.  The end result being more intimate relationships.

Application
Definition:  The act of putting to a special use or purpose.

Scripture:

Everything in life has an application. in 2009 I want to find ways to take what life gives me through sermons, books, podcasts, blogs, everyday life, etc. and apply it to me and those around me resulting in my becoming a better minister, husband, father, I.T. Manager, Small Group Leader.

Forge
Definition:  to form by heating and  hammering; beating into shape.

Scripture:

In 2009 I want to forge my life in a way that God and Family come first in everything. Out that will come an overflow that will allow me to minister more effectively in my family, job, and small group.

Will you help to hold me accountable to my 3 words?

Ok – so in a “tough” economic climate, giving is down at many churches across the country.  This is an awesome example of a church using a different form of communication to teach tithing with some relevance, humor, and Truth .  Enjoy…

I LOVE the fact that I have a right to free speech.

I LOVE the fact that I can earn a living.

I LOVE the fact that I am rewarded for working hard!

I LOVE the fact that I live in a free country.

I LOVE the fact that I can worship the one, true God with all my heart, soul and mind!

I LOVE the fact that even though I don’t agree with all that happens in our country, I can speak up and express my views!

I LOVE the fact that I can listen to opposing views, think about them, discuss them, and then reform my view if necessary.

I LOVE the fact that every 4 years we can elect a new President of The United States of America.

I LOVE the fact that my Hope is not found in men, but in Christ.

I LOVE EVERYTHING about the United States of America.

So what spurred this love fest?  Just a little facebook converstation I had tonight.  Erin – If you read this, please know that I am not slamming you, your beliefs, or your opinions for it is just those things: people, beliefs, and opinions, that make The United States of America such a great country.

The People of The United States of America have spoken and today we inaugurated our 44th President.  While I did not vote for him, I will back him in all decisions that he makes – even if I don’t whole heartedly agree with them.

I believe in this country and the ideals upon which it was founded.  Individuals have the right and ability to EARN a living doing whatever we please so long as we remain within the limits of the law.  There are stories all over about people who have become self made millionaires after finding themselves down on their luck.

Have you see Will Smith’s movie, The Pursuit of Happyness?  Chris Gardner finds himself without a job, his wife leaves and he has custody of his son.  Chris Gardner sleeps on a bathroom floor, lives out of a suitcase, raises an incredible son and also becomes a self made millionaire.

Have you heard of Dave Ramsey?  Dave was a self proclaimed real estate expert who owned millions of dollars of property all over the Nashville, TN area.  The only problem was he was in deep debt on all of them.  The banks called the loans and Dave basically found himself bankrupt.  He worked his way out of debt and is now a millionaire. He has used that experience as a catalyst to teach thousands upon thousands of people how to take responiblitly for their actions and live a debt free life through Financial Peace University.

How ’bout this.  Check out this guy who was playing around and developed a pretty terrible iPhone app.  In a nutshell he releases an app and it didn’t do well.  Over Christmas he toys with it a bit and also releases a scaled down free version of his app, called iShoot.  The free app rockets to #1 on the iTunes download chart and soon after the paid version finds itself there too.  He’s now pulling in over $20,000 a day!  That’s America!

If these guys can pick themselves up out of the gutter and make something of themselves, why can’t the rest of America.  Sure there are extreme exceptions like disabled veterans (the gov’t should support them for their sacrifice to the U.S.A.) but there are many more who are just expecting the government to hand them everything they need.

Why were they buying houses they couldn’t afford?  Why are they driving Mercedes Benz vehicles when all they can afford is a used Kia?  Because the banks told them they could.  Shoot – If I did everything the bank told me I could do, I could be living in a $250,000 house with 2 brand new leased cars, all new furniture, name brand clothing, and eat our 4 nights a week.

But here’s the difference – I take responsibility for my actions and don’t rely upon someone else to bail me out of my poor decisions.  Please know my heart here, I am not lifting myself up nor putting others down.  I am merely stating the fact that we all need to be responsible for our actions and not rely upon the government for provision.  Provision is God’s job – Matthew 6:26 says “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?”

The Government is responsible for 6 things:

1. To form a more perfect union
2. To establish justice
3. To insure domestic tranquility
4. To provide for common defense
5. To promote the general welfare
6. To secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity

These responsibilites come directly from The Declaration of Independence and The Constitution of The United States of America.

So, let the government take care of those 6 things things.  As for us, the American people, let us take care of ourselves by being responsible for our actions.  I Love My Country because I can own my actions and be responsible for them.  I Love My Country!