Finishing...

We are finally getting to the finishing stage!  The granite countertops were installed today and as it turned out, the installer was Eletha Jordan's grandson!  We are finishing up the paint in the next few days and then the flooring will be put in.

The island woodwork will be painted black and we will be re-finishing the wood floor soon.

Won't be long and we will have our stuff!  The keyword for this post is: finishing!

Preparing for the Mission

I believe Life Tabernacle is ready!

Filled with the Spirit.

Trained to walk with God.

Committed and faithful.

Unified to the best of our ability.

What is the mission?

Not to have good church.

Not to feel good about ourselves.

Not to like what we hear.

Not to have things and be blessed.

Our mission is the harvest!

Do you believe in the mission?

The trouble with deep belief is that it costs me something.  If I believe in the mission, I have to participate.  It costs us individually and the church harvests only as much as we each harvest.

"There comes a special moment in everyone's life, a moment for which that person was born.  That special opportunity, when he seizes it, will fulfill his mission - a mission for which he is uniquely qualified.  In that moment, he finds greatness.  It is his finest hour."  —Winston Churchill

This is our moment.  In this last hour, the Lord is calling you to your finest hour— for His glory, His purpose and His harvest.

Anniversary Celebration

Last week, we enjoyed a great celebration of our 20 years together. I surprised my wife with 20 balloons in her office with a big Happy 20th note....

....a bouquet of roses at home....

Then we took off for a trip to Dallas/Fort Worth. Our church family presented us with a 3 course dinner at the Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek in Dallas for Thursday night. The place was beautiful and the food was awesome. This was the curve drive that we drove into for valet parking.

We were on a veranda overlooking the terrace and pretty much had a private room.

For the first course, we chose a serving of Alaskan King Crab for each of us in two types of frothed butter over new potatoes.

Our second choice was the filet mignon. It was so good. It was served over mashed potatoes and asparagus. Mmmm.

For dessert, Karla chose— "Lemon." All different types of lemon items.

I chose ice cream. Nine different flavors! It was served with a Texas sugar cookie.

Here is the terrace our table was overlooking. Everything was so nice.

I had tickets for the sweetheart symphony in Fort Worth on Friday night. So we had a late lunch downtown on Friday at PF Changs.

The symphony performance was the Bass Performance Hall. It is an awesome structure!

And since Karla is into the music theme, she had to get a picture of the restroom! The men's room was decorated with the bass clef, but there is no way I was taking a picture!?! :)

The symphony was "Unforgettable" - they even played that song! We ended the night with a leisurely stroll to Starbucks watching the carriages and enjoying the crisp night.

What a great way to celebrate 20 wonderful years together! Thanks for all the wishes and the great dinner from Life Tabernacle.

20 YEARS....

.... and counting!!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO US!!!

February 11, 2009!! WOW! Time flies when you're having fun!

The past 20 years have been everything we could have ever dreamed. We've had many experiences in our life together, and I can't imagine enjoying this journey with anyone besides this most wonderful and amazing man.

I love you and can't wait to see what the next 20 years holds!!!

This week in our lives...

This past Sunday was a great time in the presence of the Lord.  We had one brand new soul filled with the Spirit and one baptized in Jesus Name.  The new one is a co-worker of Sharon Bivens.  She has not missed a service since and is so excited to be here!  Sunday night we had communion and it was a sweet time remembering the Lord's sacrifice.

Monday, our new full-time secretary joined the church staff.  Priscilla Venegas is now working at the church each day and has already proven to be a great asset. "Welcome, Priscilla!"

Wednesday night was our first annual business meeting.  We ratified our board members and church secretary/treasurer as well as going over the past year and vision for the coming year.  From June-December of 2008 we had 8 filled with the Spirit and 7 baptized;  For January 2009 we had 8 filled with the Spirit and 5 baptized!  We are anticipating great things.  Our average attendance for 2009 so far is 269.

We have been busy in the office all week.  I walked around and snapped pictures of the work going on!  

We are planning and researching our facility growth options. We are also restructuring our Sunday morning activities to allow more room for growth.  Pray for our church and leaders so that we will know His will and way.