Can Christians say Happy Halloween? I do not know but, Happy Halloween. Have a good weekend and enjoy the weather. Laugh with friends and give kids some candy. Enjoy life.

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Sunday, October 31, 2010 Posted in | | 0 Comments »

During a conversation with a friend the other day a statement was made and it has really stuck with me. Pain is the fertilizer of life. Pain causes us to grow. To get out of our comfort zone. To stretch beyond who we are and who we have been. Pain puts a dependency in our life on God. Pain reveals who we really are and what is in us. Pain is the fertilizer of life.


Think about it.....

Pain is messy and no one likes to touch it.

Pain stinks and no one likes to be around it.

Pain is temporary but if applied right the results can be beneficial.

A lot of times pain will shift our focus in life. If you let it, it will take the focus off of you and place it where it should be. Instead of letting pain stunt you and stop you, let it propel you and push you.

Pain is a fertilizer if applied right to you life....

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Saturday, October 30, 2010 Posted in | | 0 Comments »





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Friday, October 29, 2010 Posted in | | 0 Comments »

Last night was Thrive's Costume Party.


We had some really great costumes. Nurses, robots, retro chicks, uncarved pumpkins, Link, ninjas, army men, and more.
A storm blew through between 6 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. that tried to dampen the night, but did not. It was a blast.

We had a pumpkin carving contest. I was really impressed with the pumpkin that were carved.

Thrive really has some talented students.

The 1st and 2nd place pumpkins were awesome! One had the batman symbol and the other had the thundercat symbol. Both had the Thrive T on the back.

We spend some time talking about the difference between being informed and transformed.

I am grateful that I get to be a part of these awesome student's lives.

Thrive Students are some of the most awesome students in the world!


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Thursday, October 28, 2010 Posted in | | 0 Comments »

This past weekend was a marathon. Life sometimes is wide open and you have to really work at taking it all in. We smoked 120 pounds of chicken and fed the Woodland High School Football team, helped out at the Georgia PK retreat, and hosted Stockbridge Assembly's first leadership conference. It was long stay and short rest but was really fun. Here are some thoughts....


You can not call anything "work" if you love to do it. You love for doing anything comes out of your motive for what your doing.

Friday night football never gets old. Love hearing the band, smelling the smoke in the air, and watching the game. And it is always better when your team wins.

I absolutely love the people that God has placed in my life. So grateful for my friends. People that love you and have your back make this journey a little bit easier.

Spent sometime at the campgrounds. Everyone needs a Bethel.

I really enjoy a good fire. Bon-fire, camp fire, firepit, it does not really matter to me.

Stockbridge Assembly is one of the most awesome church families in the world. So grateful God has called me to serve here.

Watching our leaders worship last night at the leadership conference was amazing.

Sitting around a firepit with people you love put the icing on an already awesome weekend.

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Monday, October 25, 2010 Posted in | | 0 Comments »

1:6 - Be active in sharing your faith so you will have full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ.


1:7 - Do we refresh hearts?

1:9 - So we appeal on the basis of love?

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The people at Nike are geniuses. Anytime anyone says "Just Do It" what is the first thing you think about? Nike. Their shoes, their clothes, and their logo.


That phrase has been rolling around in my head for a couple of days now, maybe a week or so. Most of us have thoughts about doing things to help people or do things to show people the love of God and our next thoughts are excuses why we can not do it or why it will not work. Before we know it our excuses far outweigh our dreams. Our passion is stifled by our insecurity, our desire is extinguished by our doubt. We can talk ourselves out of anything. All I can think about is Nike.

Just do it!

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Friday, October 22, 2010 Posted in | | 0 Comments »

1:15 - To the pure all things are pure


1:16 - They claim to know God but their action deny Him - actions speaks louder than words

2:11 - The grace of God appeals to all people

3:1 - Be ready to do whatever is good

3:4 - But when the kindness and love of God appeared...

3:5 - He saved us because of HIS mercy

3:14 - Do not live an unproductive life

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1:6 - Fan the flame

1:7 - God has given us a spirit of power of love and self-discipline
1:12 - Not ashamed because of whom I believe in.

2:3 - Endure hardship
2:11 - If we die with Him we also live with Him
2:12 - If we endure, we will reign with Him
2:15 - I want to correctly handle the Word of Truth
2:22 - Pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace

3:5 - Walk in His power
3:7 - I do not want to learn and then ignore the truth
3:17 - We are equipped through the Word of God

4:2 - Preach the Word. Be ready at all times.
4:5 - Keep your head in all situations
4:7 - No regrets
4:18 - The Lord is my rescue.

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Thursday, October 21, 2010 Posted in | | 0 Comments »

Webster defines the word decompress as...

1: to release from pressure or compression

2: to convert ; to an expanded or original size

I spend every Thursday morning at Starbucks to just sit and think. I might blog (like I did today), or journal, or read, or stare off into space. The goal is to just sit and sort through my thoughts from the service the night before. To sort through my thoughts from the week.

Everyone need decompression time. Everyone needs time unplugged from the daily grind of everyday life. What are you doing to decompression? What are you doing to release the pressure of life? What are you doing to sort your thoughts?

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Last time was the 2nd week of the Fanatic series. We talked about going "all in" as a follower of Christ.


Thrive also said thank you to Robin for all she has done for us and prayed over her as her and her family move to Colorado. Really going to miss them.

The worship team did an awesome job last night. Really proud of those guys and grateful for their hearts.

I believe Thrive students are the most awesome students anywhere.

I love the fact that everyone loves hanging out after service is over. No one wants to go home. Love the community and family that God is building.

Excited about the costume party next Wednesday night.

The next six weeks are going to be real different but really awesome as well.

For more about what is going on you can go to iamthrive.com or twitter.com/thrivestudents.

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We are always in a season. Life is full of seasons. The great thing about seasons are that they are temporary, they are always shifting. The challenge is knowing what season you are in. It could be like winter and it is cold, hard, and everything feels dead. It could be like spring where life is starting to sprout out and everything is coming alive again. There is a warm breeze is the air. It could be like summer and there is rapid growth and harvest. Things you planted months ago, you are getting to reap. The sun is bright. Or it could be a season of fall. Things are changing. There is transition in the air and you know winter is coming again.


Seasons are always changing in our life and you have to know what season you are in. The great thing about seasons are that you can prepare for the next season in the middle of the current season you are in. You can get ready for things to come even if you do not see them or feel them yet.

There is a season and a time for everything.

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There is a truth that we all know and always forget. It is a truth that I have let slip through my fingers over the last couple of weeks. We get to make time. We can not create time, altar time, or stop time, but we can make time. Make time for the things that are important, make time for the things we give priority to in our lives. Make time. We are constantly making time, the question is what are we making time for.


In most cases, if your life is like mine you make time for the urgent and often overlook the important. We make time for the things that come flying at us out of nowhere and forget about the everyday things that we need to take care of. I am challenged today about my time.

It is something that I can not recover or ever get back. It is something that I can not buy, trade, or sell. It truly is the most valuable thing in my life. Not only that it is what I let speak for what is important. What am I making time for?

The urgent can not override the important.

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Tuesday, October 12, 2010 Posted in | | 0 Comments »

There is a lot rolling around in my mind about church and youth ministry right now. I am trying my best to be open to the Holy Spirit and allowing Him to challenge the way I view and have always viewed ministry. If we are not careful in seasons like this we can be overwhelmed by all we see and end up doing nothing. We fight so hard to be an element of change that we forget that unless we let God change us, we can not affect anything.


I believe that in Youth Ministry as a whole that we have separated the Mission of Jesus from the Message of Jesus. The message of Jesus also calls for response, action, or movement. I can not speak for any other Youth Pastor/Leader but too many times I have stood up and declared the Message and then told students to go live out the Mission on their own. Sure, we would give them opportunities a couple times a year to "live it out," but as a whole they are own there on.

We have told them to be a missionary to their school, neighborhoods, and families but not helped them or equipped them. Wednesday night is the night for the Message, a night where we come in and sing songs, listen to a monolog message, hangout with people we like (ignore people not like us), and feel good about ourselves and our relationship with God. The Mission is suppose to happen during the week. Is that the way it is suppose to be? What if the Message is the Mission? What if our actions really do speak louder than our words? What would happen if instead of separating the two we view them as one?

I do not have the answer but I am willing to allow God to keep dealing with me until we find it.

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Monday, October 4, 2010 Posted in | | 0 Comments »

1:5 - Love: comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.

1:15 - Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I, Eric, was the worse.
1:16 - He displays His unlimited patients.
1:18 - Fight the good fight.

2:1 - Pray for everyone.
2:3 - God wants to save everyone.
2:6 - Jesus was my ransom.

4:4 - Everything God created is good.
4:7 - Have nothing to do with Godless myths.
4:8 - Godliness has value in this life and the life to come.
4:10 - Our hope is in our Savior.
4:12 - Do not let anyone look at you different because of your age. Set an example.
4:15 - Give yourself wholly.
4:16 - Watch your life.

5:21 - Do nothing our of favoritism.
5:22 - Keep yourself pure.

6:6 - Godliness with contentment is great gain.
6:7 - I have nothing.
6:1o - The love of money is the root of all evil.
6:12 - Fight the good fight of faith.
6:18 - Be rich in good deeds.
6:20 - Guard what has been entrusted in your care.

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Yesterday while I was in gym walking on the treadmill looking out the window I saw something that caught my attention. There was a father and son walking to their car. The son looked to be holding the father's hand and then as they got closer to their car the son got a little ahead of his dad, and started to run. Then I noticed something a little different. It was the dad that was holding on to the son. As the son starting getting ahead of his father the son stumbled a little. The father picked him up, made sure he was okay, and they kept walking.

It believe that was a beautiful picture of us and God. We think sometimes that we are holding on to God but in reality it is Him that is holding on to us. Could it
be that when we stumble a little, it is because we are getting ahead of Him and He will not let us go? Could it be that His grip is so tight on us that even though we may fall down he can still pick us up? Just a thought.

My goal for today is to put my hand in God's hand and let Him guide me, not me guiding him.

Psalms 48:14, "For this God is our God for ever and ever; he will be our guide even to the end."

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Saturday, October 2, 2010 Posted in | | 0 Comments »