Category Archives: Life experiences

family, Life experiences, Mountain biking

Dad/Daughter/Desert

I just wanted to post a few pics of our Dad/Daughter excursion to the desert from last weekend.

One of the best ways to get to where everyone else is NOT is on a mountain bike.

My daughter Natascha had a little window of time so we took off for the desert on the bikes.

Tash on the BCT (Black Canyon Trail).

Mountain biking is fun…but it is more fun with Tash – what a great day.

the “Jumping cholla” .

Our first water crossing on the BCT.

Click the pic with your mouse to get a better view.

Just can’t beat a view like this – What a great trail system right in our back yard.

http://www.bctaz.com/

Steve


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Just sayin', Life experiences

Critic or Contender?

I love this quote about the difference between critics and contenders.

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.

Theodore Roosevelt

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Life experiences, Ministry

FACING AN OBSTACLE?

ob·sta·cle

–noun; something that obstructs or hinders progress.

Obstacles won’t destroy my vision, but my attitude can. After a grueling sixteen-month odyssey an aging Paul wrote from a smelly Roman dungeon, “Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice” (Php 4:4). Paul knew two things we need to know:

1. It’s not over till God says it’s over.
Circumstances and people don’t have the last word God does! He is “author and finisher of our faith” (Heb 12:2). With God, quitting is not an option. When you quit without His permission you’re “AWOL.” Furthermore, when you abandon your mission you forfeit His protection and provision.

2. Nothing can defeat me without my permission.
” and you don’t have to give it. You can’t control what happens to you, but you can control what you say and do. That’s all you need to control; God will control the rest. You can’t control the “handicaps, puzzles and persecution” that come your way, but you can control whether or not you’ll respond with “frustration, despair and rejection.” You can’t always avoid getting “knocked down,” but you can determine whether or not you get “knocked out” 2 Co 4:8-9. Refusing to stay down denies your enemy permission to sabotage your destiny. Do you have a God-given dream? Refuse to quit and it “will surely come.” Have no dream? Ask God for one. Already accomplished your dream? Ask God for another one before you lose the joy and motivation of life. Have a dream so small it doesn’t stretch you? Ask God for a bigger one and watch your faith grow!

You don’t always win by winning.. In fact your greatest wins will  always be the fact that your greatest defeats didn’t kill you!  I love that. Our defeats get defeated when we outlive them, outlast them and smile afterwards.

Again,  2 Cor. 4:8-9 is worth another read today.

“We are hedged in (pressed) on every side [troubled and oppressed in every way], but not cramped or crushed; we suffer embarrassments and are perplexed and unable to find a way out, but not driven to despair;

9We are pursued (persecuted and hard driven), but not deserted [to stand alone]; we are struck down to the ground, but never struck out and destroyed;” 2 Corinthians 4:8,9 (amp)

 

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Life experiences, nation

New York City 1978

In 1978 I was part of an ministry team to New York City and New Jersey.

The ministry experience was awesome and as I remember the entire trip was a memory maker for me and my friends.

I remember standing between the Twin Towers on our day off and thinking to myself how great it was to be standing in such a fantastic place.

Then 23 years later on September 11th things drastically changed for all of us. I remember like every other American how evil has such a devastating effect on the planet.

Today September 11th, 2010 I am still reminded that evil does exist and it is very powerful.

I am also reminded that there always has been evil but “greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world.” 1 John 4:4

Saturday morning there will be memorials that take place all over the country.  As we as a nation remember and pray, I will  pray for not criticize the leadership of this nation.

My prayers are also with one of the spiritual sons of our church. .. Bobby Snyder is serving in in the middle east and needs our prayers. Yes both Bobby and the middle east need our prayers.

Today I will pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

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church family, family, Life experiences, Ministry

30 YEARS

I just wanted to post a brief blog about a landmark Brenda and have reached this month.

30 years ago this month we started in ministry.

June, 1980

After graduating from Central Bible College in Spring field Missouri we landed together in my home town of Davenport Iowa to serve Westside assembly of God as youth pastors.

Here are the great communities we have lived in over the past 30 years.

DAVENPORT, IOWA

GRASS VALLEY, CALIFORNIA

INDIANOLA, IOWA

CINCINNATI, OHIO

ST. LOUIS,  MISSOURI

PRESCOTT, ARIZONA

It has been an amazing journey and we have met some amazing people.

Each community gave our family something special and created amazing memories for us.

The church’s we served out of all had one thing in common.  Just regular people attempting to do there best to make a positive impact in their world.

Thank you to all who we have had the opportunity to know and work with.

June 30, 2010

Steve and Brenda

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church family, Life experiences

Visit To Missouri

I just wanted to post a blog about our recent visit to Missouri.

I was invited to speak at my good friend Jesse Quiroz’s  church he is planting in Lincoln County called Journey church for their first birthday of the church.

Wow, what an amazing place and people Jesse has at Journey.

As soon as Brenda and I arrived on the campus of the church we could feel the buzz of activity as well as the touch of God on the efforts going on there.

God is and will do amazing things through this unconventional and passionate group of Christ followers.

We started the weekend of by doing a little sight seeing in St. Charles which is known for the launching of the Lewis and Clark expodition back in 1804.

Bren and I at the launch site of the Discovery.

We drove by the church Brenda and I planted and pastored in Lake Saint Louis from 1991 – 2003.

From Saturday we come to Sunday and what a Sunday it was.

Great 1st birthday cake…and it tasted good too.

Jess is leading Journey Church in an amazing adventure.

I had to move quick to keep up with their leader as we celebrated the churches first trip around the sun.

Standing with an amazing guy – Jesse Q is the man!

Jesse told me that we were going to baptize close to fifty people and he needed my help. What a privilege

This was one of the most amazing batismal services I have ever been apart of.

The weekend was filled with seeing friends and recalling all the great times our family had over the 13 years we lived in Missouri.

Just before leaving for the airport to catch the flight out to Phoenix, I ask Jess to drive me by our old house in New Melle.

What a great place to raise your kids.

Amazing weekend in one of the nicest places in the country.

The next blog covers the river time.

Steve

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Funny stuff, Life experiences, outdoors

Dog vs. Pepe la pew

Well, it happened again this morning around 5:15 a.m..

our female Golden Retriever was sprayed by Pepe La Pew.

Here is a quick “what to do when everything stinks” blog post.

If you are an outdoors lover and a dog lover you might want to brace yourself for what happened to us today.

Bren let our female Golden outside early this morning and the next thing I hear is Bren struggling to get Bella in the garage after she got in a dog fight with a skunk just outside our back door.

Bella had taken a direct hit in the face and  had just been perfumed by one of natures worst smells, A skunk.

This is the second time this has happen to us so I wanted to blog breifly about what to do when your dog gets skunked.

HOW TO DE SKUNK YOUR DOG.

ABOVE ALL ELSE, DO NOT LET THE DOG IN THE HOUSE !

Here is a simple solution.

1 Qt 3% hydrogen peroxide
1/4 cup baking soda
1 tsp. liquid soap

  1. Do not just run water over your dog. This only increases the stink, and if the dog has dry, or cracked skin, the spray can get into his skin, and cause burning. This also can lead to skin problems later.
  2. Mix about 3/4 of a big bottle of hydrogen peroxide with about 3-6 tablespoons of baking soda. This is for a small dog. For a medium sized dog, use twice as much, and 3 times as much for a big dog.
  3. Scrub the solution gently all over your dog. It is advisable to use disposable gloves, or if your skin is dry or cracked, it would burn your skin. If you do this outside, your house won’t stink as much, and it would be better for everyone.
  4. If stinking persists, make some more of the solution, or call your vet for other ideas.
  5. Try to keep your dog in the backyard, if you are missing a fence or have a swimming pool, try to keep it in the basement (in their cage) or a room that you don’t usually go into.

Bella is a rescued dog and a great addition to our family. She was just protecting her territory.

“can you smell that smell?”

Steve

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God and your bod, Life experiences, outdoors, rivers

PRAYER VACTION PART 1 – (HIKE)

Have you ever had a prayer vacation? That’s right, “A Prayer Vacation.” It is really a personal prayer retreat. Several years ago I began the discipline of scheduling regular (and irregular) times of refreshing and prayer.

I love the Southwest Airlines media campaign that ask the question; “wanna getta away?”

This past weekend I had the opportunity to get away for a minnie prayer vacation.

I packed everything I needed to get to a river for three days of camping, hiking and biking and headed 7 hours north into Utah’s Zion National Park.

Just wanted to post a few pics of the amazing enlightening adventure on my blog.

Springdale is a small village that sits on the Virgin river just outside the park.

No photo can begin to capture the beauty…but at least we try.

The Virgin river is an amazing water way that cuts through the red rock canyon for miles.

To me Zion National Park would be compared to Sedona on Steroids with no housing developments along the creek

water falls part 1

Water falls part 2

water falls part 3

It was really great to be able to get away for the weekend and reflect, restore and pray.

I encourage you to do a prayer vacation if at all possible.

“Come apart by yourselves into a desert place, and rest a while:” – Mark 6:31

Steve Lummer

Lead pastor Prescott First Assembly

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Just sayin', Life experiences

GOD HATER IN THE WOODS TEACHES ME SOME THINGS

I know some of my blog readers and facebook friends might disagree with my blog post tonight but here it goes.

Tonight, I did my usual bike ride through the forest after work.  I usually run into a few people along the way and sometimes we talk but most of the time we just do the “woods wave” and move on.

Tonight, the guy I came across was a person that I occasionally stop and talk to for a few minutes and this evening was no different.

I was sorry to hear that he had lost his long time companion and dog that I usually see him walking with.

He was quick to blame God for the death of his animal friend and continued to explain that the death of his dog was a “cruel joke played by God.”

He also claimed that “Satan is God’s hit man and Jesus is God’s con man.”

Our conversation ended with me looking at his 45 caliber hand gun on his hip while he expressed he was “fine with burning in a lake of fire for all of eternity”….that was “just fine with him” he said.

My thought was, I hope he doesn’t take his 45 caliber anger toward God on me because I am a minister. ( I did survive).

It seemed to me that he was going to attempt to pay God back for “letting him down his whole life” by hating God as much as he possibly could for the rest of his life.

Wow, dog dies and God is at fault. While he is going off on God and on about his hate for God, I’m thinking, dogs, cats, and bunches of other animals as well as thousands of humans die every hour on the globe. In fact, About 250,000 – 300,000 people die per day.

I know this is a negative and some what morbid blog but there are tons of God haters walking around us everyday and we need to be aware of that.

I have learned that when I cross paths with a God hater it is crucial to not cast judgment but rather just listen. To not be offended but to offer kindness. To not attempt to defend God, but to show God’s love to the unlovely.

I am sorry the man lost his pet to death this week. That is a difficult thing for most of us who love our pets.

The fact is though, death comes to us all not as a cruel joke by God but as just part of life. Death is the beginning of eternal life.

“It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” Hebrews 9:27.

Today’s chance meeting taught me some things about my self.

1. Pain comes to others not just me.

2. Suffering and loss can shape me to become bitter or better.

3. Loss of family and friends in this life is tough but encourages me to love God not to hate him.

4. We can get so self consumed in our pain that we can often self destruct.

5. When things go wrong, hating God will not make things get better. Conversely things will most likely get worse by choosing to hate and seek revenge.

Our relationship with others and God can become better and richer if we will just choose to not hate, not harbor bitterness and allow God to show us how to turn hurt into healing and pain into love and joy while we have a living opportunity.

Only God can help us do that. That why we need him so.

He will provide for those who grieve —
He will bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes,
He will give the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
and He will give a garment of praise  instead of a spirit of despair. Isaiah 61:1-3

Pastor Steve

Lead Pastor

Prescott First Assembly

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Alaska, church family, Life experiences

ALASKAN CRAB OFFERING

A couple of Sundays ago my friend Geoff met me at the door after service and he handed me an offering from Alaska.

Geoff gave me some info about the Crab and here is what he said.

“It is dungenus from southeast Alaska, not sure if from Ketchikan or Metlakatla where my brother in-law is from. It is a hour boat ride, or a ten min float plane but it is from southern southeast the best crab in the world better then king crab in my opinion”

Wow what a great gift from a friend…That is what I love about people. They bring so much into your life.

I will never forget the love offering from Geoff.

Thank you friend.

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