Youth Center Update

Some of you were wanting to see pictures of our Youth Center renovations, so I snapped some while I was there today. The above picture is of our HVAC system that is installed in the second floor attic. Below is the upstairs "loft" that serves as a ceiling to the added Sunday School room below and will house a pool table and Xbox system.

Below is the front Sunday School room that we formed by taking a wall out. That wall separated two offices, so we also closed in one of the office doors to make one entrance to the enlarged room.

Below is the second Sunday School room that has the loft above it.

And finally, here are the stairs that lead to the loft. The loft is open to the large youth room and will have a railing across it. The solid white wall beside the stairs will house cabinets like a small kitchen and a refrigerator for all of our activities! The trash can will roll under the stairs - now - didn't you want to know that?!

It is coming along. The electricians are supposed to be finished by the weekend and the sheetrock/texturing will be close behind. I would love to have it ready for Easter...but we will see! You know how remodeling goes and Easter comes early this year.

Baptism

We were excited today to baptize our first new disciple! We have had many people come back to God since moving here and even filled with the Holy Ghost, but today was a first complete conversion. I have mentioned our Vacation Bible School mom in past posts and this is her. You will see her precious children watching her be baptized today in the first picture. It was so sweet.

Last July we had our first VBS in our backyard! These children were playing in their yard near downtown Pflugerville when a lady from our church stopped and asked the mom if they could come to our VBS. They came everyday. The Sunday following, we had the kids sing the songs that they had learned in our backyard and then presented them with certificates. This mother brought her children and has been attending ever since. She received the Holy Ghost at home as she awoke in the middle of the night. She woke up speaking in tongues! God has really changed her life. A couple months ago, she was ready to have a Bible Study and I taught her about salvation's plan. She had just taken a job the week of the Bible Study that kept her from Sunday services. But today she told me that she quit her job week before last because she felt like it was taking her away from God!!!!! YES! God is really working in her!

Her oldest son is 10 years old and after her baptism today they asked about him be baptized also. So, I will sit down and talk to him about it and most likely he will be baptized soon! He almost received the Holy Ghost at the Children's Revival last fall.

I am always amazed at the miracle of the new birth. It is incredible how God takes a life that is broken and reveals His plan to them. Their life is never the same after that! I was talking with a new convert at the Bernard's tonight. He has connected with our family. He received his baptismal certificate in service tonight and he told me, "I have been baptized in the titles, but there is something different about this. I actually feel like I was handed part of my ticket to get into Heaven tonight!" And....he is right. Baptism is a vital part of salvation's plan.

I get excited thinking about what this family in our church will be like 10 years from now! If they will stay connected to God, there is no telling what He will do in and through them. As they were leaving the church, she requested church cards. She said, "People in my classes at college are asking about my church... (she smiled real big)...and I want to tell them about it!" Go ye therefore....

A Couple Smiles for You All

I'm really tired of seeing this awful picture of Gene, so I had to put something else in front of it.  LOL!  Hope this brings a smile to your face today.

"These morning walks are killing me!"

"What pets do when we're at work!"

Paint sores and rambling

Well, it has been busy! Today I was able to paint the ceiling in the Youth Center. We rented a scissor lift for the air conditioning installers, so I used it today to spray the ceilings. We used a dark brown paint called 

"Wild Horse."

No matter how careful you are, you always seem to have drips! In this case, they made me look like I had sores all over my face. Yucky.

The center is taking shape. The A/C is in and the electrical will be completed on Friday. We are in the planning stages for the deco. We are going to IKEA to brainstorm ideas.

In between all of this I am working on my real estate. I had a closing last week and have a leasing client in contract. Leasing is a huge thing here in Austin due to all the colleges and high-tech employees that come and go. It is unreal what houses lease for near the downtown area. A house I took a client to the other day was 1200 square feet and built in the 40's. It was in horrible shape and leases for $2400 a month! But, it is close to the University of Texas. Location is everything. I toured 10 homes yesterday with other agents and had the opportunity to talk about the Lord during the whole tour. Somehow, when other agents find out that I am a Pastor, they all tend to open up and talk about their life and issues! It is interesting and really gives me an opportunity to share my experiences with God. It is also amazing how many people I have met that live within a few miles of our church.

We had awesome church Sunday and had the Chris Bracken family, missionaries to Taiwan/China with us. This is our third missionary to take as partners. We believe in supporting ministries that reach to the lost all around the world. We ended up having $900 come in for Home Missions, Christmas for Christ! This money goes to reaching unchurched areas in North America.

Keep us in your prayers. The land for our permanent location is still in the works. We have several people attending that are ready to make commitments and our VBS mom is ready to be baptized this coming Sunday. Pray that nothing will stand in her way!

More Anniversary

Happy Anniversary to my beautiful bride! She got to make a post before I did this morning - so I will finish up the day with my thoughts. I really cannot believe that it has been 19 years since that wonderful day in Mesquite, Texas. We have had so much fun and experiences together - way more than I could have ever imagined. We have enjoyed raising our boys and still are having a blast!

Tonight, I surprised her with reservations at The Melting Pot in downtown Austin instead of buying gifts. (Well, I did buy flowers earlier in the day.) It was our first experience at this great restaurant. From valet parking to a 2.5 hour meal, it was a wonderful evening together. We had "Cupid's Combination!" It started with a Tomato Basil Cheese fondue with bread cubes, carrots, celery, cauliflower, and granny smith apples to dip in it. Then we had a great Heart of Palm salad. Our meat selections were chicken, lobster tail, shrimp, pork, and much more cooked in the Mojo flavor. Then the fourth and final course, a "Snickers" chocolate fondue with all kinds of tasty dipping items (strawberries, bananas, cheesecake, rice crispy squares, marshmallows, pound cake, and brownies - very small pieces of course!)

Now, another great year together ahead... I love you, Karla!

NINETEEN YEARS!!!!

Happy Anniversary to the most wonderful husband in the world!! I love you! We're still smiling after all these years.

Family and Friends

We have enjoyed some enjoyable visits with friends and family this week! It somehow lifts your spirit to visit with people who know you and you are comfortable with. Mom and Dad were here for the week working on the new youth center and we had a great time visiting mixed in with our project. We did a lot of work and wore ourselves out in the process...

Our church really appreciates the great help that they have been this week! Bro. Clarence Cagle has also been a great help each day. We are now ready for the air conditioning and electrical to be roughed in and then the sheetrock will go in. It is really taking shape.

We took Mom and Dad to the Domain on Friday night and they tried Starbucks. They both got "skinny lattes" and said they liked them. We also took a peek at the new Apple MacBook Air. WOW! It is incredible. You need to go look at it!

Todd, Julie, Madison and Mason surprised us and came into service on Wednesday night! It was great to see them and then enjoy some time of fellowship after service. He was in town for a computer convention. They are great, long-time friends! He told us that someone at the convention won a MacBook Air! Lucky dog.

The YOUTH CENTER transformation

We're excited to get started on our Youth Center remodeling. Dad and I spent today getting supplies— then tearing out and building walls. All last week, Chad kept wanting to go knock down a wall to open up a Sunday School room. We weren't ready to get started then and since he was in school today, we saved one for him!

Bro. Cagle came to help us today and we kept reminding him to save a wall for Chad. So here he is getting after it!

We are preparing for our miracle — children and youth coming to God!

First Communion

This Sunday we had our first communion service. We were so blessed to have someone donate a whole communion set to us a few months ago! It even came with glass cups - which I had never seen before. We used them this time, but I think we will go with the plastic next time....you know, the cleaning of all those little-bitty cups is unreal!

We had a great time in this service. This was the very first communion service in their life for some of our people! It is all about remembering the great sacrifice that our Savior made for us. Tears were abundant and God's presence was so close. We preceeded it with a week of "around-the-clock" prayer and fasting. We had one young man who has never shown a bit of emotion moved to tears.

My message was "Calvary Answers for Me." When "the accuser" comes to make his accusations against me— though I would have to say I am guilty on many counts— Calvary speaks up and says, "FORGIVEN!" "WASHED!" "CLEANSED!" "WHITER THAN SNOW!"
Aren't you glad for the redeeming voice of Calvary?

Spirit of Freedom

We were blessed to have representatives from "The Spirit of Freedom Ministries" with us in service this past Wednesday night. (pictured above— Bro. and Sis. Howard Pastorella, directors of the ministry and Bro. Jim Buie, the Texas representative) We had such a great time with them in service and then in visiting after service! We are partnering with them to start a Christian Intervention Program here in Pflugerville. I will post more information as we get this setup and going. We will be using our Youth Center for the classes and gatherings. There is hardly a family in our world today that is not touched in some way by drugs or alcohol. We believe that we are called to make a difference in lives and this is a tool to better our community. We must give the lost their chance at a New Life!