Motion Missions Trip to Mexico

Some of the youth from Living Hope are in Mexico City right now.

I can't wait to hear their stories. They will be sharing them in our July 13th service. My son Mark is on his first missions trip. The picture below has me a little curious. I don't think I will be able to wait until July 13th to hear the story behind this. In fact, I talked with the missionary they are with, Peter Breit. All he would say about this is "That's no ordinary water and you'll have to ask Mark what could possibly make it worth it when he gets back."

(Marissa Burns, Mark Thompson)

(AIM team with people from one of the local churches)

22 Years Ago Today

Not only is today Flag Day, it is also my anniversary. 22 years ago today, Darla and I were married. Happy Anniversary honey!

We haven't changed a bit!

Lake Delton Drained

My family just returned from a great week of vacation in the Wisconsin Dells area. On Sunday, June 1st, we road on the Original Wisconsin Ducks. We were able to experience a great tour through the woods, onto the Wisconsin River and Lake Delton. The guide explained to us how Lake Delton is a man made lake, "artificial" was the term he used.

On Monday night we went to the Tommy Bartlet Water Ski show. This great show is also located on Lake Delton.

As you can see from these pictures. It was raining pretty hard. We could have sat underneath their large canopy but we thought that if we were a little wet it would make the experience more like "4-D". (Maybe this is why I have the sniffles today?)

As you may have heard, Lake Delton is no longer a lake. With all the recent and heavy rains, Lake Delton forced itself out of its normal boundaries and found a way around the dam. Once it broke loose, there was no containing it. Within hours a beautiful lake is now muck.

As I watch the news, it is hard to believe that I was just enjoying the entertainment that is provided by Lake Delton. As a pastor, there are many applications and lessons that can be learned by this tragedy.

• We can find ourselves drained if we are not careful
  
• Life changes quickly
• Bad things happen to good people
• Too much of a good thing may not always be a good thing
• Tragedy often brings out the best in people
  

I encourage you to take a moment and pray for the people in areas that have been flooding. Pray for them like it was you in the situation.

I was glad to hear the Tommy Bartlet show will open up yet this week, obviously without the water skiing portion. The statement, "The show must go on" really is true.

Mother's Day

I trust all of you moms had a great Mother's Day yesterday. My family sure had a good time. After church we went home and I grilled some steaks. We had a great meal and were actually able to eat outside on our deck. After lunch we decided to pack up our golf clubs and go to the driving range. My family almost took up the whole length of the driving range. Darla is going to be in the ladies golf league this year so we thought she should get some practicing in. I am so proud of her. Darla's gifts have always been in the music arena. Sports like golf is something that she didn't start until a few years ago. When she puts it all together she can really hit the ball. I still haven't figured out how to have everything working together to consistently hit that great shot.

One of the gifts I gave Darla for mother's day was an ipod. Since a big part of her life is music I felt it was time for her to catch up with the times. It's amazing how many cd's you can fit on that thing. What's nice is the background accompaniment songs that she can now have wherever she goes. If we are ever in Nashville, she can be a part of the Grand Ole' Opry on the spur of the moment. Perhaps if we run into Simon, she could end up as the next American Idol. At the Chanhassen Dinner Theatre she may get the leading part. (Well, you get the idea)

Again, I hope that all of you moms had a great day yesterday. There is no way that you can ever be appreciated enough for all that you do. Thank you!

YouVersion.com

Check out www.YouVersion.com. It's a revolutionary online community! Whether you've been studying the Bible for years or are simply curious about its claims, YouVersion will allow you to read, share, ask questions, and learn from others in an exciting and interactive new way. The neat thing is that if you have a cell phone with web access, you can access 14 different translations of the Bible.

Here are some areas of YouVersion you'll want to check out.

Discover
Easily find a passage in one of many translations. Search by reference or use the Table of Contents to locate a specific scripture.

Contribute
Share what God's Spirit is showing you, and read how He is moving in the lives of others. Contribute images, video, text or links to passages, or email something meaningful to a friend.

Reflect
You can journal about what you're reading, as you're reading it. And even better, what you write is linked directly to what you are reading so you can easily reference back to those special passages.

Remember
Mark references with tags that make sense to you, and find what you want, when you want. It's like your own personal concordance. Or you can star anything you'd like to remember.

Church Managment Software

I am looking for some recommendations on church management software. Let me know if you have some suggestions.

Facebook

It's been a few days since I have updated my blog. I apologize. Last Friday I decided to create my facebook page. I have to admit that I thought I might be a little old for this. After all, my kids and their friends are into it. I also have to admit a fear. I wondered if I would have anyone be my friend. :)

I was pleasantly surprised to find many of MY FRIENDS also had a presence on facebook. I found missionaries that my church supports, high school classmates, my college room mate, my former Youth Pastor, several ministry colleagues, and lots of kids from Living Hope Church.

Technology is wonderful and it really can be a great help in life, but I also realize that it takes a lot of time to keep up with everything. I have this blog site, my podomatic sight where I put the audio of my sermons, www.livinghope.podomatic.com and the church website to keep up. I almost forgot, I have been editing the video of our Sunday morning services so that we can put a good video on our local access channel. Fortunately I have some people that are ready to be trained. If you have an interest, let me know.

A big reason why I do this is because of the opportunity to touch peoples lives who will not always be at a Sunday morning service. I believe that Christians need to use every opportunity to share the wonderful message of Jesus' love.

If you have facebook, will you be my friend? :)