A New Day

We had our men's retreat last week, and it was one of those retreats that significant things happened in a "low key" kind of way...it wasn't real emotional, moving, or "earth shaking", just slowly progressing to a closing that was appropriate....when we began Calvary Chino Valley, it was my original desire to see men draw closer to the Lord, so I spent my early years building up men's ministry....today, our men have many things to be involved in, and it blesses me to know that some have taken advantage of such ministry opportunities...our women also have great opportunities, and it is great to know that the Lord has moved with them too, in wonderful ways...I am looking forward to Friday's night of worship with the Katina's, which is open to the entire body and anybody who wants to come, and then the next day, we have our 13th annual men's conference...that will be good, too....I pray that men show up!
I really am enjoying our young adult's study...it has been a blessing to me to have it and Marie and I enjoy answering the questions that are being posed by the group. A young man told me that his favorite part of the night is the question/answer period, as it gives him opportunity to hear his own questions answered, posed by someone else! This is practical, and I truly enjoy it...Finally, with the California Supreme Court upholding Prop 8, the battle goes into second gear...homosexual activists didn't get their way, so be ready for some real angry whining! Rally's and protests will be the norm, and for me this is actually something that can turn out good, as voters will have the opportunity of seeing first hand what this really is all about. I was intereviewed by the Daily Bulletin yesterday concerning my thoughts on this, and I told the reporter that I knew this was just the beginning of more protests...the will of the people has been heard, but sin has a way of progressing, and this is not going away....today the letters to the editor in the Orange Co. Register were solidly anti Prop 8, so we know that this battle is on...one person said that it is the battle for the mind of our youth, in that younger people have less concern about marriage and its definition then the older generation...God help us all to raise up a generation of people who solidly stand on foundations that are solid...Ps 11:3 asks the question If the foundations are destrotyed, what can the righteous do? Of course, this is right and we need to remember that the war is on God, and His word, and His institution of marriage....this is not cultural or social, it is spiritual so let's keep close to the Lord and His word in this conflict...

What a joy

We started the young adult's study a couple of weeks ago, and I have truly enjoyed it. There is something about that age group that Marie and I have a special love for, and for the life of me I can't really say what it is! Perhaps it is because those are some very important years for most people, as they were for me. Graduating high school, getting saved, going into the service, going to college, getting married, having kids, buying first homes, all of that took place for us during those "in between" years. So many decisions that are of critical importance are made during those short years, so for Marie and me, it is a joy to be able to spend time with people at that critical juncture of their lives.

We have a good attendance, filling up the banquet hall, and I am slow in wanting it to grow any further, because if it does we will have to leave the hall for the chapel, and I fear some of the personal feel that I have in the banquet hall will be lost in the larger space. Still, I don't want anybody who wants to be there to not be able to because of space limitations, so we shall see. 

One of the things I am enjoying is the time we are taking to answer questions. This is new for us, as most of the studies are simply closed with prayer, so we are getting used to the new format. Because of time constraints, I am not answering all of the questions that are being asked, but am going to shorten my answers so Marie and I can answer more questions. The questions are good, and I think it is something that needs to be done, so we will do what we can to accommodate more questions!

We will be leaving tomorrow for northern California, Mt. Shasta to be exact. A Calvary pastor friend of mine has asked us to teach at their annual couple's retreat, so we leave tomorrow out of LA. I am at the point of life that I really don't like leaving, and to be honest, we are so busy at this time that it is something that is a bit difficult. We return on Sunday night, and I will teach on Monday, then Wednesday, then we will go to the men's retreat, and then return to teach on Sunday, then Monday, and then will teach again at the Men's conference the following Saturday, then will be going to the Pastor's conference and will teach there. So you can see, we are pretty busy. Still, I would rather burn out then rust out (though I don't plan on doing either one!)

Anyway, tonight we have our study in Ezekiel, and it is a tough portion of scripture. I pray that it makes sense, and that we can leave these studies loving God more completely. I hope you are able to join us, and please make an effort to be with us this upcoming Sunday, as we resume our Truth Project studies Sunday night!