Sunday Evening LPC Talk Soup

What a great Easter Evening service down in the keys! I got home this morning from a quick spin around Cuba with stops in Cozumel, Grand Cayman, and Ocho Rios Jamaica, and thanks to my dad had a stress free trip home from the port. This evening, Trav gave the first message in the rebel series and focused on Peter. He was a tough guy with a special constitution. I thoroughly enjoyed Trav’s sermon; it may have been the best he’s ever presented. The PK campus looks great too! Also, Tom’s testimony was great. After service, we hung out and had dinner together. Pizza, casseroles, pasta, potato salad, chips, beans and rice, and other stuff tasted delish! I was so happy to be at church tonight in a near full capacity service, and I only wish I could have been at the theater this morning.

2nd Thoughts

-I am a strong believer in the Bill of Rights. Some politicians would love it if the 2nd Amendment to the US Constitution would just disappear.

-In 1998, I applied for an received my FL Concealed Weapons/Firearms License. From application to receipt took about 24 days (weekends included).

-When my permit expired in 2003, I was a little tight on cash, so I didn’t renew it.

-Now that the permit is good for 7 years instead of just 5, I went ahead and reapplied. The process is supposed to take no more than 90 days.

-I applied on the second week of November and I just received my shiny blue card from the agriculture department’s licensing division last week. That’s well over 90 days.

-As I mentioned in a previous entry, I purchased a Kel Tec PF 9, the smallest 9mm manufactured right now.

-All the background and serial number checks were cleared as of yesterday (this was a used gun) and I picked up my new back up pistol for concealment yesterday.

-I have a picture that shows just how small and slim this 9 is. You would have to hold it to believe how little it weighs (under a pound).

Kel Tec PF 9

Kel Tec PF 9 Thin View

-I am prepared for a lot of recoil and hand shock due to the size of the gun. I’ll test the gun at the range April 13 when I return from my cruise.

-I am trying something different today. Instead of my normal Fuji apple today, I am having a big juicy Golden Delicious apple. I’ll let you know how that goes.

-Momma, thanks for the sweet tasty perfectly ripe banana that I had for breakfast today.

-In 3 days I embark on my stint around the Caribbean from Cozumel down to Grand Caymen and finally Ocho Rios Jamaica.

-My sweet mom will be watching our little dog Max while I am away. I hope he doesn’t get into too much mischief while I’m away.

-I’m not sure if I will get a chance to swim with the sting rays or not, but I’m definitely doing Dunns River Falls and snorkeling the reefs of Cozumel.

-It’s very difficult to get a vacation in the middle of an outage, so I was blessed to be able to do this trip.

-I’m not yet sure if I will be able to make it to church this Sunday. That’s up in the air right now. Stay tuned!

Ungrateful for God’s Grace?

This is not an original thought, but it was too good to not repeat it, even though it’s rephrased. I don’t have a source, so forgive me if this is not exactly like the original.

Why do we ask God for something, then show an ungrateful attitude when He answers? It’s like a man driving around a parking lot for a long time desperate for a parking space and nothing is available, so desperate that he prays,”Lord, if you will give me a parking space I’ll know you are real, I’ll pray more, I’ll change my ways!”. As soon as he finishes praying, a car backs out and opens up a parking spot. The man then says,”Never mind God, I just found one on my own.”. Have you ever disregarded His grace or been ungrateful for his favor?

I’ve been guilty of thinking I accomplished something that was nothing but God’s grace. I don’t want to be ungrateful and arrogant.

Thank you, Lord, for your provision, favor, and grace in my life. Help me to remember you first in all I do and say.

Sunday Life Pointe Talk Soup

It’s Sunday afternoon, and that means it’s time for the Life Pointe Talk Soup (intro stolen from Chris Day).

• Pastor Travis, Jesse and Alex Santoyo, and Matt Izaguirre came home from Cambodia/Tennessee this week, and made their return to Life Pointe Church this weekend starting yesterday at the baptism/picnic.
• We saw 6 baptized at the Homestead Bayfront Park yesterday afternoon in the chilly wind and rain.  The sun came out for the picnic, though, but so did the “noseeums”.
• This morning I got to the theater and could not find the Roland keyboard; Zech had turned off his phone last night so he didn’t get the message that the keyboard needed to be retrieved from Plantation Key.
• I used Jesse’s famous Saturn Project Casio Privia instead.  I had to run to my house to get the extra keyboard stand.
• Music rocked this morning.  Jesse was on the rhythm guitar and lead vocals, Josiah played electric guitar lead, Matt was on the bass, Alex “The Beat Machine” was on the drums, I played keys and back up vox, Julie sang back up as well.
• We sang “Pride (In the Name of Love)”, “Your Grace is Enough”, and my favorite “Your Love is Amazing”.  For communion we sang “Beautiful”.
• The message was another installment of the New Testament Challenge, the Challenge of Obedience.
• Trav showed pictures and recounted his experience in Cambodia, including his (along with Matt and Alex’s) encounter with a pinoy (a rotten boiled egg), a balut (a fully developed duck fetus in the egg), a beetle, and crickets for dinner.  NASTY.
• He also shared what the Anthems for a Broken World project has been and will continue accomplishing through their combined efforts with the People for Care and Learning in the impoverished dumps of Cambodia.
• Jesse, Alex, and the Saturn Project laid it all on the line for the cause of Christ, giving 10 years of song writing and musical efforts to help bring clean drinking water and a real home to hundreds of the most impoverished people in the world.  God will bless them for their sacrifice!  I am proud to call them friends.
• I bought two of the Anthems CD’s and I will give one as a gift.  Also, I am doing everything I can to encourage other people to buy the album and help save someone’s life and soul.  You can find out more by visiting The Saturn Project’s website, and you can purchase this amazing music there as well.

Sunday Morning Rant

I love my family at LPC and I love what LPC is all about. I enjoy occasionally visiting the traditional church as well; it’s like hanging out with a familiar old friend who you have not seen in a while. But sometimes I do question the things I see in a traditional Pentecostal service. I have to watch out for the differences between a genuine call for spiritual growth and a manipulation by a charismatic leader who seeks to exert his own idea of what a Christian walk really is. I have witnessed and been victimized by this type of manipulation before, and even thought it may have been born out of a sincere desire by that leader to see results, it is not right. I’m writing today simply to share my heart. I wouldn’t mention names because few people would have a clue who or what I was talking about anyway, but this manipulation was the reason I never returned as a camper/student to the state youth camp of my church’s denomination. I did go back numerous times as a counselor and as a worker.

I love my church, and I have a very big place in my heart for my church’s denomination, the Church of God (Cleveland, TN). However, I have come to loathe the political machinery of church denominations, particularly those of such a strong centralized system. One of the things that has been great about living in South Florida for over 20 years is that I have been able to be in a church (HCOG/LPC) and under pastors (JT and TJ) who have been far enough physically and emotionally from the machinery of the political structure that the they (the church and pastors) were never part of the buddy system which effects and infects centralized governance.

If any of this makes absolutely no since to you, #1 be glad, #2 disregard. I will be working today so I am sorry that I won’t be able to join you at LPC, but I miss you fellas. See you next week!

My Own Thoughts

-For 5 months, overtime has been virtually non existent for me. I have worked 2 days of OT since September.

-New graduating classes, rough job market (people are hanging on to the job they have), and projects closing out combined to turn 5-10 overtime slots into 3 or more extra personnel every day, more or less.

-The only way to get overtime was to wake up on your off day at 4 AM and call in to see if the shift was running short from call outs or new projects that popped up.

-Today will is the third day of OT for me in the past 3 weeks. It’s very helpful considering that I am going on vacation.

-Today also marks a raise for me, which is going to be amplified by my OT.

-I interviewed on Monday for operations. I have been told that 40 people are fighting for 15 job openings. In all, I feel my chances are pretty slim this go around, but if this door is shut then I trust God.

-Hind sight is 20/20. I have learned so much from all my mistakes and even successes. God is so good even when (especially when) I don’t deserve it.

-This year is about 18% over. It seems like we just celebrated New Year’s Day. Wow!

-I can’t wait to get my $13 extra each week in my paycheck. This is what Democrats call a substantive tax cut.

-What’s up with Pelosi dancing around like a giddy school girl during Obama’s address to the congress? How did she get where she is?

–What is the website number to track porkulus spending?

Sunday Life Pointe Talk Soup

• This morning was week 2 of the New Testament Challenge.
• I guess I set my alarm wrong because it did not go off this morning at 6 AM.  I woke up at 6:50 needing to be at the church theater by 7:00.  I rushed and got there by 7:20 on the nose.
• We changed up our worship set this morning because Diego was sick and the plans were for Reina to lead this morning.  Jesse took over instead.
• July sang back up, Alex was the beat machine and did an excellent job as usual.  Matt played bass, Jesse on the rhythm, Josiah played rhythm and lead, and I played the keys.  It was nice to have the Roland FP2 back this 
• We sang Always Greater, I Could Sing of Your Love Forever and Better Days with Healer for the communion led by Julie.  Honestly, the music sounded great this morning.  For “halftime”, Alex kicked a seriously funky beat and Matt played a bassline that Alex wrote.  They drew an ovation for their efforts.  One family was heard saying “the music was jamming!” as they exited the theater.
• Travis had some great nuggets of wisdom this morning as he spoke about the difference between judgment and being judgmental.  Remember that the same manner you judge others, you will be held to that standard.
• His story about road rage was classic.  He also had some corny lines about Ah-nold in The Terminator.  He wondered why he always wanted to be Bach and not Beethoven “I’ll Be Back”.

For another perspective on this morning at LPC, be sure to visit:

Ritz, Trav, Mike, Jesse, or Kelly.

Sunday Life Pointe Talk Soup

• What a great day at the theater as Life Pointe came together to corporately worship and be with each other.
• Luckily, we had plenty of extra people at work this morning, so I was able to go home without any penalty.  I know there were several who wanted to go to set up their Super Bowl parties, but this is only the second time I have gone home.
• As for our corporate gathering, we had a great time in both the 9:00 and 10:30 services.
• Travis kicked off the New Testament Challenge series, which will run through March 22.  The mission is to read through the New Testament in the next 60 days while we study what Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul and Peter had to say about the revolutionary man who is God, Jesus.
• In music, Jesse led one song (Say So) and played rhythm guitar for his tune and lead for the rest, and Matt on the rhythm guitar led “Grace Like Rain” and for communion “Come Thou Fount/Amazing Grace”, and “Nothing but the Blood”.  Alex was on the drums, I played keys, and Bill played bass.  On back up was Julie and Reina.
• Come Thou Fount was so cool, and you could feel God’s presence as people really expressed their worship.  It was pretty cool to take a hymn and put a modern feel to it.  The percussion was solid and Matt did an awesome job singing and leading.
• For “Meet and Greet”, Jesse and Matt sang DMB’s Maker with Alex kickin it on the drums.
• It was sweet just letting loose and jamming after church with Alex on the drums, Matt on the bass, and I was playing with the keys.  Matt and Alex rocked, but I thought Alex showed off a little (he’s good enough).  Then Jesse started playing some Latin thing on the piano, Matt and Alex jumped in and it was pretty cool.

For another perspective on Life Pointe’s Sunday morning at the theater, be sure to visit Trav, Chris, Ritz, Kelly and maybe even Jesse.

Sunday Life Pointe Talk Soup

• We had a great time this morning at the theater in pier 2, as Life Pointe came together to worship corporately.
• The music was led by Reina and Mike.  They both did an excellent job.
• Alex was on drums, I played Jesse‘s keyboard, Josiah played rhythm on the acoustic guitar, Bill played lead on his Fender, and Matt laid down the bass line.  Julie and Joseph sang back up vocals.
• For our music set, we sang “I Am Free”, “Did You Feel the Mountains Tremble”, and for communion we sang “Heart of Worship”.
• Trav spoke about Dwight L Moody in the ongoing “Dead White Men” series.  It was really cool to hear what an awesome work God did through a humble man with no formal education and no major expectations.
• At the close of service, Alex and Matt totally rocked the house as the jammed to some fusion/rock/jazz/funk riff that they created.

For different views and perspectives on Sunday at Life Pointe, be sure to visit Chris, Trav, Ritz and Kelly for their Sunday wrap.  I will be heading down to Plantation Key tonight and will follow that up with some fishing at Channel 5.  See you tonight!

This Historic Day – My Silly Perspective

While at Lee University, for one year I played bass guitar and attended Mount Eagle Missionary Baptist in Tennessee.  I know what it’s like to be the only one in church different from everyone else, because Mount Eagle was a small black American congregation.  I was the only Caucasian in the congregation of about 100.  When we had the singing fellowship with the other churches of the area, I was still the only Caucasian in the congregation of about 250.  I know just a little about what it must feel like for a person to attend a church and then to be the only one of a particular color or race in the congregation.  While the people were extremely friendly and hospitable, and while the wonderful people at Mount Eagle did everything possible to make me feel welcome as a part of their family, I couldn’t help but feel as if I was an outsider.  It was as much or more my doing/feeling than anything they could have done to make me feel different.  Even with those experiences, I understand that I can never know exactly what it feels like to be a black man living in a white area.  I struggle with my preconceived notions of what other people should be doing, thinking, and feeling.  But when I think back to my short time at Mount Eagle, it tempers those prejudices with a little perspective.  Try to imagine what it’s like to live in a world that looks different than you.  Hey, you may not need to imagine it.  Maybe that is you.  Today is a pretty good day to reflect on that as we welcome a new leader, the first black man to serve in the office of POTUS.  Let’s enjoy this history we are making, and put aside our political fight for another time.