Brussels Update 2: The Money Obstacle

The process of actually going over seas to be a full-time missionary has many steps. These steps are actually hurdles, and if you can't get over them, you can't go, essentially. The next immediate step for Cassi and me is a financial planning one and has 2 main parts.

One is raising support just as any missionary would have to do. Brussels is about the same cost of living as Manhattan, so it is very expensive. We have a meeting on June 13 to start this process and come up with a plan. There will be much more on this as it comes.

The second part is getting out of debt. This is the actual next step that Cassi and I are working on a plan. We have been in contact with a financial planner and will be setting up an initial meeting shortly. If you could see our financial picture you will realize what a literal miracle it will be for us to be debt free by 2011. I have been a professional musician for some time and that has a way of damaging your finances. :-)

For us and others who are or have struggled financially there are some great things in our manual (Bible). I keep 2 passages bookmarked with a dollar bill as a reminder.

Psalm 50:10-11
10"For every beast of the forest is Mine, The cattle on a thousand hills. 11"I know every bird of the mountains, And everything that moves in the field is Mine. 12 If I were hungry I would not tell you, For the world is Mine, and all it contains."

Haggai 2:7-8
7 'I will shake all the nations; and they will come with the wealth of all nations, and I will fill this house with glory,' says the LORD of hosts. 8 'The silver is Mine and the gold is Mine,' declares the LORD of hosts.

Wow God owns everything? Everything is His? He can allocate it where He wants then. Now you have to believe that if God ordains something he has the power to orchestrate it too. There is hope! Don't let money keep you from your saying "YES" to a calling.

Peace

Brussels Update 1

Busy weekend. We have visited with a lot of family. That has kept us away from the computers since our meeting we had with our church.

Big news though. We have been selected for our churches LifePoint Brussels team. There is still a year and a half of training, support raising, education, paying off debt, and much more. This will probably be the toughest thing that Cassi and I attack. Please pray for us through this process. We will be blogging about the process as we go.

Storm vs. iPhone: Take 2

I had a notification in my Application Center on my Blackberry Storm that new software was available. It is an app called Blackberry App World. This is basically RIMs attempt at a localized App world for the Blackberry. There are many apps out there for the Blackberry, but there has not been a good central location to find them.



Taking their lead from Apple, this App World makes my Blackberry so much better. Now I can search Apps that are free, top downloads, made from many different developers, all in one place. My favorite one was the free download from Pandora. I have been a Pandora user for a few years, but, to my knowledge, it was not available on the Storm until just recently. And yes, Pandora works fine even without built in WiFi on my phone. I was driving down the road and using it fine.



There are apps for Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Vlingo, games, GPS tracking of my phone, mobile CRM and many more. Ahh...this makes the Blackberry that much better.



Try the Blackberry, we have had Cut & Paste since version 1. :-) Actually the iPhone is still more slick and has way more Apps, but if you are one of the millions and millions on other networks (other than AT&T) get a Blackberry.

All you need is love

John 13:34-35
34"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

So all we have to do is love? That can't be right. This implies that we don't have to have a degree in theology. It suggests that we don't need to host a small group at our house. We don't have to be in a certain class system. The bible is full of rules and regulations right?

While it is true that the bible has many rules, laws, regulations, suggestions, etc. the way we can let other people know we follow Christ is by our love for each other. Simple. To the point.

So if you do not love others as Christ loved you can you be a Christian? I think this passage suggests that you cannot. Jesus talked about trees and vines and the fruit they bear. It is easy to see that an orange tree will not produce olives. So if you were "grafted" in to the body of God, the vine, you would produce love. If you are not producing love you either need to be pruned or completely removed and thrown away. I hope some pruning is all I need.

Show your love to someone today. It is the only way for people to know that you are different, that you used to be a rugular person and now you are a Christian.

Dates with Casting Crowns

I received some dates that I will be performing with Casting Crowns. Chris Huffman, the bass player for Casting Crowns, is taking a short leave for his 2nd child to be born. I will be filling in for him while he is out. As of right now that is looking like September 3-5.

The shows will be in St. Paul, MN, Kansas City, MO, and New Braunfels, TX respectively. Come out and check them out if you can.

Casting Crowns tour dates information can be found here.

I am a bass player, not a plumber

I came to West Tennessee today to help mom out with a few things around the house. I thought I would work on her kitchen floor and fix a few things with the laminate floor. Well, the toilet handle had been not acting right so it needed to be replaced. The cutoff valve for the toilet would not shut if all the way so I had to turn the water off tho the entire house. I took the next hour getting all the new innards of the toilet replaced and put back together.

Voila, everything is back together and working. But, an hour later I am downstairs and a drip drops on my head. I look up and there is a wet spot on the beam right above me. The bathroom is right there above where I was. I walk up the stairs and meet David coming down with a bunch of toilet paper rolls that have been soaked and says, "We have a problem."

All the work we did was fine and was not leaking, but the valve started leaking. Apparently from when we tried to get it to shut off all the way. Now there was water on the floor on the second level and dripping on the beams downstairs. OK, I tried to tighten the coupler on the valve and then water just sprayed in my face like out of a garden hose and you put you finger over it to create pressure. I run outside and cut the water off to the house again.

Now I realize that I have to replace that valve. I am in rural West Tennessee and it is after 7pm. I get in the car and drive 2 towns over to Lowe's. Luckily the lady there in plumbing realizes I did not know what I am doing. She goes and gets every part I will need to do the job. She wants to know if I have a 1/2" water line or 3/8" coming in to the toilet. I don't know. I forgot to look, and I have never done this before. I thought it was standardized. I have her give me the parts for both. I also need a hacksaw to cut off the old valve.

Get to mom's. Cut off the old valve with the hacksaw. Neither one of the parts she sold me fit. Everyplace is closed until the morning, my mom has company and there is no running water in her house. Sorry mom! Happy early Mothers Day! I guess your guests will have to relieve themselves outside until I get the right parts tomorrow.

That's what you get when you get a bass player to do a man's job. :-)

Belgium; It's not just for waffles anymore

Cassi and I have hinted around and outright told some of you that we were trying to decide on starting the process of going to Brussels, Belgium. We spent MUCH time praying, talking, thinking and reflecting. We really feel that we are to answer the call for this international mission.

LifePoint Church is sending a missions team of probably 4 or 5 couples and some college singles to Brussels in January 2011. If we are selected through this process we would go there for a 3-year appointment.

We have an initial interview on Wednesday, May,13. We will know more then.

God is a cyclops, but at least it is a blue eye :-)

I am sure that many of you have seen this picture. People would like you to believe this is 'the' eye of God. Check it out on any of the sites like here on Snopes and you can see it is a real photo of a real place in the universe with a slight bit of color doctoring.

A buddy of mine from church, Micah, used a passage in our devotional yesterday. It was 2 Chronicles 16:9. I am going to include verse 8 and 9 here.

"8 Were not the Ethiopians and the Libyans a huge army with very many chariots and horsemen? Yet because you relied on the Lord, he gave them into your hand. 9 For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him. You have done foolishly in this, for from now on you will have wars.”

God's eyes are constantly looking for looking over His creation for those that have committed their heart to Him. To those people He will give "strong support". Well, I don't know about you, but I need strong support. What are you taking on that you could use some strong support on. Check your heart.

In the passage above the Ethiopians and Libyans had armies that were too large to beat. They were delivered over to Asa and defeated because of God's strong support.

I dare say you have nothing in your life that is impossible with God's help. Nothing.