MY “STIMULUS PACKAGE” ON PRESIDENTS DAY 09

Headed for Sedona today with the family to hike the red rocks.

It is such a great feeling to be able to get out and hike again after my ankle break last summer.

This is my kind of “stimulus package” …. really gets me going to have my hiking boots on the red dirt again.

Cool thing about Sedona, It is just one hour from our house.

Here is a photo of the back side of “chicken point” while standing on “submariene rock”.

chicken-point

There is metric ton of trails in the Sedona area. I have had good experiences with two map resources. The first is Cosmic Ray’s Arizona Mountain Bike Trail Guide and his hiking trail guide. Any of the bike shops in town will have it and you can always pick up a copy online. This is a good resource to have for Tucson, Prescott and Phoenix as well.

I will post a couple of pictures after we get back.

marriage

VALENTINES

Just gotta say it.

I LOVE BRENDA!

Today, we celebrate our 29th year of 100% PURE VALENTINES .

vday-card

I think Ephesians 5:25 say’s it perfectly, “Husbands, go all out in your love for your wives, exactly as Christ did for the church – a love marked by giving, not getting.” (MSG)

Ministry

FIREPROOFED part 2

Are feeling burned?

fire-cvr11

Continuing my series “FIREPROOFED ” this weekend.

Part two is dealing with being fireproofed against a Broken Spirit.

Proverbs 18:14 says it perfectly, The spirit of a man will sustain him in sickness, But who can bear a broken spirit?

If a persons “spirit” is dysfunctional ….everything else seems bad.

The reality is that there are many things that can burn you and break you.

Here are just a few we must guard against.

1. DECISIONS WE DON’T AGREE WITH.

2. FALSE ACCUSATION ABOUT OUR CHARACTER.

3. THINGS THAT RUB YOU THE WRONG WAY.

4. DELAY OF A DREAM.

5. JEALOUSY (when it seems like others get ahead but you get left behind)

6. REJECTION FROM PEOPLE.

Jesus is the only way to fireproof ourselves from being burned and broken.

His promise to us is found in Isaiah 43:2 “When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. ” (niv)

Remember, God can’t use you if you are burned out, beaten up, and have a broken spirit.

When it comes to your spirit, Protect it and fireproof it with God’s Word.

Ministry

JOURNEY CHURCH

I just read the blog post of our good friend Jesse Quiroz and wanted to share it with my friends here on this blog.

Jesse and Missy will be planting a brand new exciting church just outside of St. Louis and I will keep you updated as to their progress.

Here is the latest from Jesse’s blog.

“WELL…I want to be the first to welcome you to what I believe to be the start of something that will literally bring a ‘GOD’ impact to the St. Louis area.
‘Journey Church’ is a Non-Denominational church-plant that will open its doors in on June 7 of this year in Lincoln County and know the doors are open to ANYONE. If you hate church…just wait. If you’re experiences with people that go to church are ‘negative’ (and that’s a nice word to insert) to say the least…hang on…or if you’re just not too sure about the whole ‘God-thing’…you are what we want.
…and trust me, you’ll have never seen a church quite like this one.
I’ll be checkin’ in quite a bit…stay tuned.
Jesse (Pastor – Journey Church)”

http://www.journeychurchmo.com/

journey-pastors

Brenda and I are really excited for what God is going to do through this dynamic dedicated couple.

Prescott

SHOVELING SNOW

Today I figured I burned 756 calories by shoveling snow for 90 minutes.

Check out http://www.healthdiscovery.net/links/calculators/calorie_calculator.htm to calculate how many calories you burn doing various activities.

Also, I thought I would post some pictures to help explain why Brenda and I love Prescott Arizona.

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snow-day-b-s1

I think at our house we got 11 inches of snow and it kept us busy the better half of the morning.

Then afterwards we decided to just playt in it.

Books I'm Reading

IMPACT QUOTE

“The impact God has planned for us doesn’t occur when we’re pursuing impact. It occurs when we’re pursuing God.” Phil Vischer.

ministry

Australia, Ministry

PRAYING FOR FRIENDS IN AUSTRAILIA

The news of the fires in Southern Australia has touched our church family. Pastor Ray and Belinda Morel’s daughter Alisha attend our church with her husband Jake.

morels

I received a message on facebook from pastor Ray and Belinda this morning and wanted to share it on my blog.

“Thanks Steve, it is really devastating over here at the moment, the lives taken are up to 130 pp they haven’t been able to go to every location yet so there will be more! Some of the towns completely gone were our favorite places to visit.. So sad, one of our close farmers in church have lost stock due to the heat, yet he still smiles when he … Read Moresees you, we have alot of farmers who do it tough but hang in there and display the goodness of God. They are great examples…. Leash will keep you updated Ray for Sudan in 2 weeks would really appreciate your prayer… Take care Belinda”

Our church family prayed for Australia yesterday and trust that God will keep all safe on the farm and send rain to that country quick.

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prayer-21

prayer-pic

“The effectual fervant prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” James 5:16

Life experiences, Ministry

THE GIFT OF FRIENDS

This past week was a great time to reconnect with some friends and say goodbye to others.

cals-visit

Paul Callaway and I left for CBC back in 1975.

From left to right – Adam and Natascha, Brenda, Beth and Caleb, Paul and his son Ben …What a great night of laughter and fun.

pastors

Paul Price, Steve Lummer and Paul Callaway The three of us all went to college together in the late 1970’s.

ceasar

I said good bye to Ceasar Garcia this past week. He and his family are moving back to California where he will manage a Dillard’s store. What a great family. Its been my privlege to be their pastor for the past five years.

The best part of being a pastor is the gift connecting with a lot of great people in your lifetime.

marriage, Ministry

FIREPROOFED

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Really Xcited to start my new series of messages this Sunday called, “FIREPROOFED”.

Over the next few weekends we will be looking at biblical ways to fireproof our lives, our marriages, our teen agers and our finances.

Isaiah 43:2 “you will walk through the fire and not be burned.”

Ministry

ANNUAL PILGRIMAGE

Each February it seems I end up in Phoenix for Pastor Tommy Barnett’s Pastor’s School.

worship

Going to Phoenix First Pastor’s School is annual pilgrimage to remind me of what is important for the life of a pastor. That pilgrimage always brings me back to the importance of people and how much we all matter to God and to each other.

One of my all time favorite sessions each year is sitting in the Prayer Pavilion either by myself or with just one or two others and listening the voice that gives me real clarity in a world that many times is very cluttered by too many voices.

Here is the prayer pavilion I love to spend time in.