Busted through...

I finally got below the 240 mark on my weight loss this past week. I have put on a lot of weight the last few years and was between 260 & 265 when I moved back to GA last summer. I can see the twenty's, teen's and one day 210 or below coming soon. My biggest desire to lose weight is so I can play with my girls more and be around when they graduate.

For all those cheaters out there in the D-fat competition Mark and I are coming for ya!!

On the streets....

I got to hang out with my friend Drew Benton down in Atl yesterday.  He works for Safehouse which is an awesome ministry to the homeless people of Atlanta.  Drew is working on a new program for mission teams coming to help out.  I think his new direction will be great for teaching people what it means to help out not only in Atlanta but in their own cities as well. 

Drew took me on a walk through some of the streets to see some of places and guys he works with.  We went to this place nicknamed "Jurassic park," this is an area where a lot of major drug users sleep and smoke up together.  On the way drew found a crack bag with a little left in there so we finished it off!  I thought I should see what they do first hand... just kidding! 

We then went over to peach&pine, this is the largest shelter in Atlanta.  It was nuts how many bunk beds were in that place and other places for people to sleep.  This is another ministry that offers a way for people to get off of the street by working their way through their program.  

Overall it was enlightening and challenging to see where & how these guys live.  I hope and pray that our small groups will one day pick some homeless shelters to use as their community service.  I can't wait to get over to Flowery Branch and start working with people myself.  Although most people won't be homeless everyone has issues that need to be a worked through!

Until next year...

It was a sad day on saturday when I had to say goodbye to another season of Duke Basketball. They were frigid from behind the line and really couldn't get their offensive game going in the second half. WV played a great game, but I still think Duke is better than them or any other team out there. It's pride I know but I refuse to say they aren't the best.

Duke had a great year and accomplished a ton more than anyone thought they would get done this year. I hated to see Demarcus Nelson go out on such a bad night, he is an amazing defender and I'm sure he'll do good in whatever he does next.

This years tournament has been crazy! The sweet sixteen should be interesting next weekend and I can't wait for another weekend of basketball to get here.

I don't know what I'll do when basketball is done. I guess I'll have to do all the work Amber has been asking me to do for three months now. Dangit!

Weekend Wrap...

This weekend was awesome!  I got to have a date night with my amazing wife on Thursday and spent the whole weekend Easter egg hunting and just hanging out with my Family.  

We went to Revolutions egg drop at Boling park in Canton on Saturday.  What else do I say other than WOW!!!  The staff and volunteers at Revolution did a knock out job.  They were willing to serve anyone even to the point of being yelled at and according to Gary this morning one even got slapped.  That's craziness!  They created a huge buzz in the community, every where we went this weekend people were talking about the egg drop and Revolution church.  

I can't wait till next year and we get to do something crazy and big for Flowery Branch on Easter weekend.  I want to be in that city so bad and cant wait to get over there. 

Well I'm going to chill with my family for a little more before we get in bed because this week is shaping up to be another busy week of meetings and a lot of work to get done.

Get'r dun

What a great week so far!  I feel like I've finally been able to get some things accomplished this week.  I had a great meeting with Trent & Jerry from Lanier Hills church up in the northern part of Hall County on Monday.  These guys are focused on doing all they can to make things at their church great and are willing to help others out as well.  It's a blessing to learn from others that are willing to teach you what they know.  

We had a great night at the open gym down in Clarkston last night.  Probably had around 50 guys come out and play.  I love spending time with these guys and am looking forward to hanging out with a few of them in a few weeks on our way up to Liberty's college for a weekend.  

We are working hard on getting things lined up to have some informational meetings and prayer walks starting the beginning of April.  Vance Pitman at Hope Baptist Church in Las Vegas says that prayer is not part of the work but rather prayer is the work.  We desperately desire to bathe everything we do in prayer and especially cover the city and county in prayer as well.  

I'm looking forward to working on our systems tomorrow with Mark.  We want to have things in place now so that when we are moving forward we only need to tweak things and not come up with what to do then. 

Wow

I'm not going into all the details about the Unleash conference but all I can say is; WOW!!!  From the moment we got out of the car to the end of the day we were constantly being served and blessed by the team at Newspring.  It is a conference we will be back to for as long as they have it going.  If your a senior pastor you need to go to this conference as it is evident that Perry's heart is to encourage, challenge and bless other senior pastors.  

With that being said I want everyone to know that I truly love my Pastor and will stand beside him fighting all the way into hell if need be.  I am blessed to be led by a man who has a passion for God and people and has a vision so big that if God doesn't show up we are going to look very dumb.  Mark you are the man and I love you!

Catch Up again...

I have not had internet for more than just a few minutes at a time for the past week until tonight.  I hate not having internet at my house, when we move I am getting internet!

We had an awesome but exhausting weekend up in Virginia this past weekend.  I had a lot of great meetings with different pastors from new church plants and older churches.  It is cool how God confirms what He is already teaching you through other people.  I met with Dr. Woody Torrence at Blue Ridge Community Church and he confirmed what God has been teaching me about prayer.  I am committing more time to pray and seek God's face about what we should do rather than thinking up a plan and asking God to bless it.  He called it convergence when God confirms what He is already teaching you.  I like that word it makes me sound smart.  

Well I'm at Josh Bradley's right now hanging out before we go to Unleash tomorrow.  I hear this conference is one of the best so I'm looking forward to what God has in-store for tomorrow.  

Catch up...

I caught whatever nasty sickness Mark had last weekend and it put me out of business for most of the week. Sadly, we have no internet at home so I have no way of keeping up with the world. Thankfully I'm better now other than a little congestion and looking forward to this week.
Here are the highlights of this past weekend:

1. Hung out with my family a ton. I love my wife and little girls they make me laugh all the time.
2. Had a date night with Amber on Friday! (long-over-due) We went to Stoney River and had some amazing steaks(yeah that's right even while on a diet). Thank you Courtney for the gift card! It was awesome! I've never been there before but rest assured when I can afford to go back; I will!
3. Played nine holes of golf with my father-in-law and brother-in-law. I kicked their tales! (If you count the highest score)
4. Went to Woodmont Park on Sunday afternoon. I love playing with Kinsey she has a ton of fun on the slides and swings. Disclaimer: If your going to bring your dog to the park clean up their crap. My shoes now smell like dog poop.
5. I got to talk to our Sunday School class about Reveal Church. I think it went well and look forward to them coming out to Flowery Branch to help out with projects in the future. Courtney is an awesome ss teacher and has a real passion for what he does.