McCain Sighting

John McCain made a stop in Round Rock yesterday about 3 miles from my house at Dell Headquarters.  I had forgotten about it and just happened to turn the corner at an intersection and there was the McCain bus.  The McCain Train was leaving Dell and headed toward I-35!   I could not get my phone out fast enough to catch a picture.  Oh, well, it was neat to be so close.  Isn't it funny how we react to national figures when we come in contact with them— when, any day of our choosing, we can be so close to the Creator, Jesus Christ?  We can talk directly to Him and He can REALLY make a difference in our lives.  My plan is to capture a glimpse of the King of Kings, giving me strength to carry on.  I look forward to it.  How about you?

Church-in-a-Day, Jarrell, TX

I had the privilege again to be a part of CIAD this weekend.  The Austin Hill Country section had our second CIAD in one year's time!  This time it was in Jarrell, Texas which is about 25 miles from our home.  We started Friday morning at 7am and these pictures were taken today (Saturday) at around 11am.  It always amazes me to see a new church be built and ready for the services on the same weekend.  Pastor Fliehs and his family are great people who are doing a wonderful work for the Kingdom.

We did a jumbo postcard mailout to a 5 mile radius around their location announcing CIAD and their service this weekend.  They already had people show up to see the building being built from the cards and others who promised to be there for service on Sunday!  The impact of these projects are so amazing.  People cannot believe that it is really built that quickly.

May the Lord bless Pentecostal Lighthouse with a wonderful service and crowd this Sunday!

Donation

We are thankful for a recent donation to our congregation. We were blessed to take a U-Haul and receive a donation of what we estimate to be around $4000 worth of goods. The first being a pulpit. The pulpit we have used was handmade by someone who used to attend before we came to Pflugerville and it was nice, but this one has all the built-ins!  (our camera put some discoloration on it)

Chad asked why we had a flashlight in the pulpit and I thought I would answer your question before it was asked... because if the power goes off in this building— IT IS pitch-black!

There are 50+ nice chairs that connect together for large crowds or work separately around tables or discussion groups. They look almost brand new! They are waiting in our garage until the Youth Center is completed.

We also received 2 long plastic (light!) folding tables, a HUGE white board to be mounted in one of our new Sunday School rooms, a folding puppet stage, a rug, a submersible baptistry heater (we will use it in a portable trough), and two miniature Christmas trees in planters, along with a beautiful silk tree.

We really do appreciate these wonderful gifts. They will be put to good use.

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.