I'm Back!

I'm back from my temporary hiatus from blogging! Since my last post we've had Christmas, New Year's in Gatlinburg (fun!), and January has been filled with reorganizing the house and tax stuff at the church. All the deadlines have been met, so I can breathe easy again.

I am so excited about the new year and the freshness it brings. This year looks to be a big & exciting one! My Jessica will be turning sweet 16 in October. Alex, my baby, will be 12 in June and starts 7th grade in August. (I can't believe it!) Oh yea, can't forget my sweetie will be 40 this year! Party time!! I am officially full time at VL now. We are starting 3 services in April. It's going to be a great year!

Our theme at VL this year is Love Strong. Just click on my title to hear our message kicking it off. We have been doing a series on the Bible over the last few weeks. I am loving it! The Bible is God's love letter to me! (and you!) I knew reading my Bible was something I needed to do and something that I did, but never thought about it as a love letter from God. You know the excitement you get when your sweetheart writes you a letter, God desires the same passion, same relationship, same love, same worship. I just purchased a parallel study Bible with NIV & The Message. I have come across 2 passages that have come alive to me. One - Psalm 23:6, "Your beauty and love chase after me every day of my life" (this is David singing to God) and Two - 1 Corinthians 1:7-9 "Just think - you don't need a thing, you've got it all! All God's gifts are right in front of you as you wait expectantly for our Master Jesus to arrive on the scene for the Finale. And not only that, but God himself is right alongside to keep you steady and on track until things are all wrapped up by Jesus. God, who got you started in this spiritual adventure, shares with us the life of his Son and our Master Jesus. He will never give up on you. Never forget that." I recently heard Josh McDowell say that being rasied in legalism ultimately robs you of any joy in Christ. When we are busy making sure we have our do's & don'ts right, we tend to loose focus of why we are doing it and who we are doing it for in the first place. I pray that you experience fresh and anew (just as I have) God's love and beauty chasing after you, the comfort in knowing that He is right alongside of you, and that He will never give up on you!

Everything Happens for a Reason

David here, just thought I would share this with everyone....

On a recent adventure during our trip to Winter Xtreme, my wife and I decided to give snow skiing a try. This is something I had been looking forward to for some time, and unfortunately it was something just the opposite for Mitzi (a.k.a. Rhonda for those of you that that don’t know Mitzi yet). Well after almost an hour of trying to figure out where to go and what to get, we finally made to the ski area. The first area was nothing more than a gathering area, and a place for novice (nice term for ignorant people with sticks strapped to their feet) skiers to become more accustom to this winter activity referred to as downhill skiing.

After numerous attempts at it, I was becoming more accustomed to the idea. However Mitzi on the other hand wasn’t having such a good time. I was persistent and demanded that she make every possible effort to let this outing become a success. After almost an hour of sulking, we finally gave it one last try and began to feel a little better about it. I had been ready to give the beginner slope a run, but Mitzi was still feeling apprehensive. After a few minutes of coercion she finally agreed to try it. (Man if she gets hurt on this run, I WILL NEVER LIVE IT DOWN).

The ride to the top was uneventful, until we tried to get off the lift. Mitzi’s feet weren’t quite planted and of she took a tumble immediately at the top. After we composed ourselves (with smiles on our faces) we began the journey down what looked to be the steepest kiddy slope ever imagined (I was beginning to think we got on the “Black Diamond” lift). Every attempt ended in utter failure, although a few feet further than the previous attempt. Mitzi was having about the same luck as me, although she was progressing slower. After numerous attempts and landing on my rear end every time, I finally gave up all hope and decided to call it quits before I REALLY got hurt. I looked up the hill and noticed that Mitzi had made the very same decision, of which I was NOT disappointed about. I gladly waited for her to catch up to me. When she finally made it to where I was at, we both came to the agreement that it was time to move on, and that we had enough fun for one day. It was about this time when God made it apparent why we were there on the slope.

From our right, a young teenage girl on a snowboard was blowing past us, with her face planted in the snow, heading straight for the fence line we were standing next to. She flew into the fence line at a high rate of speed, in what was later referred to as a “Scorpion”. Her snowboard (still attached to her feet) was behind her and hit the top of her head upon impact of her body with the fence. After a few seconds of silence the young girl began to scream as she noticed the large amount of blood pouring from her head. Without even thinking, I rushed to her and began to apply first aid. The wound was large about a 2-3” gash and I had never seen that amount of blood in my life. However instincts kicked in (Thank God for the first aid training from my military days). The medics arrived about 5 minutes later and took her down the hill. I met her and her father later at the first aid station where they had dressed the wound and prepared her to go to the local hospital for stitches.

Needless to say I am looking forward to my next snow skiing trip. However, it’s a different story for Mitzi. I don’t believe I will be seeing her on the slopes any time soon.