We are gearing up for the Fall and our theme will be the Unusual. God has called us to live in the unusual. I am excited about the month that is ahead of us. On September 9th we will be doing an unusual free car wash for our community from 9 a.m. till noon. We will also be going door to door asking our community if there is anything we can pray with them about. On September 10th we will start our new sermon series and our Sunday School contest. If our children reach 25 that Sunday, Pastor Keaton will be made into an unusual sundae. I would like to see this. Make sure you mark your calendars and get ready for the unusual.

Church Picnic

What a great time we had this past Sunday at our picnic. Curt Bates did a fantastic job grilling for us again. One of the highlights of course was the famous dunk tank. (or should I say garbage disposal because that's what it looked like.) I have to say I was scared to death as you can see from the picture. Plus the water was freezing. It was all good though because we raised $70.00 for BGMC missions. Thanks to Pastor Keaton and Katy for being a good sport and getting in the dunk tank as well.

Master Asker

It was great to be back in the pulpit yesterday after a three week break. I have to say I was pretty pumped and ready to go. I love to preach the Word of God. There is nothing greater and I thank God that He has given this great privilege to explain His Word. Yesterday's Big Idea was how to become a master asker in our prayers. A master asker finds the will of God and is persistent in their praying. Jesus gave us many examples of persistent prayer. I want to encourage everyone who hasn't seen the breakthrough to their prayer just yet. Hold on to your faith and be persistent until you see that answer come to pass. Many people give up too soon. Paul said that there is a fight to our faith. Many give up after the first round but that is not God's will for you. God's will is persistence! Why doesn't God just answer our prayers right away? Maybe He wants to teach us something along the way. Many of us will become stronger people in the end if we hold on. Life is not always easy, but find the will of God, be persistent and become a master asker in your prayer life.

The countdown to Celebrate Recovery has begun. We took a team of leaders to Des Moines on Sunday Night to watch an actual Celebrate Recovery in action. What an awesome ministry to see people being set free from their addictions and compulsive behaviors. The team we took over is absolutely awesome. I know the Lord has brought this team together for reason. Our launch date is September 10th at 6 p.m. Please be in prayer for this ministry in the coming weeks.

First Day of School

Well today is the first day of school. You would think that it would get easier the second year of school but it sure doesn't feel like it. Caleb started preschool today and Olivia is now in 1st grade. Caleb was so excited this morning that he was up before any of us. Olivia went right to her class and just waved goodbye. It is sometimes hard as a parent to let go of your kids but I am reminded by what God's Word says in the book of Proverbs, "Train a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it." It is our job as parents to train our kids. We are training them for life. Sometimes we want to hold on to our kids as tight as we can (believe me sometimes I do.) but that is not our job. Our job is help them and train them to become mature Christ-followers. It is our job to let them go so that they can impact the world for Christ. It's not easy but in the end it sure will be worth it all!

Great Sunday

What a great Sunday we had yesterday. I was very blessed by the ministry of John and Dina Mussacchio. It was so good to see them after so many years. I was very blessed by how our own people got behind the vision of John. The church gave yesterday the highest offering it has ever given to a special speaker. Praise God! What a privilege to bless people above and beyond. Way to go church!

Special Sunday

I am looking forward to this Sunday as my good friend and former youth pastor John Muscacchio will be with us at CH. I have great memories with John and his family at Glad Tidings in Des Moines. John is now a missionary to Guatamala. It is hard to believe that it has been almost four years since I last saw him. In fact, I was in Ohio the last time we got together. This will be a great Sunday and I hope everyone can be here to listen to what John has to say. I know you will be blessed.

DREAM

While we were in Tulsa, Jen's cousin was able to take us to Church on the Move. Church on the Move is known for their awesome children's and youth ministries. I was able to take the grand tour of their new Oneighty Youth Building. Check out some of the pics.

Excited to be back!

Today is my first day back at the office. Jen and I had a great time on our vacation. This past week we took the kids camping. Olivia and Caleb had a great time fishing and making sand castles on the beach. Overall it was a relaxing time. One of the things I was encouraged about was when we told the kids they were going to visit another church yesterday, they were disappointed that we were not going to CH. Pastor Keaton is doing a series on the Armor of God in children's church and they didn't want to miss it. I was excited to hear that that our kids enjoy going to our church above anywhere else. I guess the old saying is true,"There's no place like home" and home is here at Community Hope.

Precious Moments

I'm here in Tulsa OK on my first week of vacation. Jen's uncle has a computer so I thought I would update everybody with a picture. Before we came we stopped at Precious Moments Chapel in Carthage, MO. The kids were especially cute. Here are a few pics!