Coffee Grounds

Stunning Roses

2012-01-31T15:38:00.001-07:00

Want stunning roses? Now is the time to trim them back. Start trimming the roses by cutting back the leaves on the canes until there are no leaves left. Remove any canes that look “woody”. Be careful to not cut the union. The next day take some white Elmer’s glue (the kind you used in school) and dab on top of the cuts to help seal the canes.

In hot, humid conditions, roses are prone to fungal diseases. Spray weekly with a systemic fungicide or treat roses organically. Mix 3 teaspoons of baking soda and 2 or 3 splashes of fish emulsion in half a bucket of water. Spray roses weekly. The soda acts as a fungicide and the fish emulsion provides nutrients.

For more trimming guides be sure to visit the American Rose Society’s website at http://www.ars.org/.

Natural Landscaping

2012-01-23T16:27:00.000-07:00

Would you like a yard and garden that is visually pleasing, a haven for birds and butterflies, and that once established, is also low maintenance? By creating a natural landscape your wish could come true, AND you would be enjoying the satisfaction of knowing you are gardening in an environmentally friendly manner. Natural landscaping is about creating beautiful natural environments by cultivating plants that are native to the bioregion without using armful chemicals. It means re-accessing our idea of what is esthetically pleasing. Do we prefer straight lines of neat and tidy monocultures or a constantly changing matrix of different sizes, shapes and colors? Do we feel the need for order and control or revel in the unpredictability of nature’s complexity? A natural landscape is adapted to its environment. The use of a large number of native plants, trees and shrubs allows nature to do the work. Species that are best suited to the region have adapted to the area’s insects, soil and climate, making the use of pesticides, fertilizers and intensive watering and care unnecessary. Indigenous plants attract and nourish native birds, butterflies, and insects, and create a natural ecosystem able to maintain its own balance with minimal human intervention. Native species are also generally non-invasive as well as less interesting to deer and rabbits.

'Tis the Season

2011-09-28T08:28:00.000-07:00

Summer is wrapping up, temperatures are dropping, fall is fast approaching. That means Christmas is just around the corner. With Christmas comes family, friends, hot cocoa, fireplaces, amazing sales, and of course Christmas lights. We all love to drive around to different neighborhoods to look at all the lights decorating the homes, trees, and yards. However, when it comes to our own homes, for some people the thought of putting up Christmas lights gives us pains in our back, legs and head. But there is an answer! Burdick Landscaping & Pool Care doesn't just service your lawn & pool maintenance needs, they also install and will remove your Christmas lights for you. No more dealing with tangled lights, broken or missing bulbs, or strands that don't work for whatever the reason may be.

Tim Burdick, owner of Burdick Landscaping & Pool Care says "this is time of year is all about being with your loved ones. Everything we do is centered around allowing you to have more time with your family and friends." When it comes to Christmas lights Tim also has some good advice, "the biggest things are to make sure that no more than 5 strands of lights are plugged into each other. Otherwise you will overload the strands. Also, be sure not to plug more than 10 strands into each outlet or you will pop your circuit breakers." And finally, "one that most people forget is to change their sprinkler timers so the lawn and shrubs don't get water while the lights are on." If you don't have Christmas lights to hang up, don't fret Burdick Landscaping can even supply lights for you.

So whether you are looking for landscaping service, pool/spa care, or relief from the Christmas light hanging headache, Burdick Landscaping & Pool Care is worth a call.

Thanksgiving

2010-11-23T14:47:00.002-07:00

Well, it's that time of year again. We just wrapped up our annual Coffee Grounds Thanksgiving Feast, and it was AMAZING! There was great food, friends, and an awesome message from Pastor Dionne. You don’t want to miss next year’s event!

Anyway, I just wanted to take you a few minutes to remind you to stop and think this holiday season about what you are thankful for. You may think you have nothing to be thankful for. However, in the book of Philippians, Paul was in prison on death row waiting to find out each morning if that was the day that he was going to be executed. He had been beaten, thrown off of a cliff, and more. I don’t think that any of that has happened to you (though it may seem like it). Paul still was able to rejoice and be thankful, because he knew that God was in control.

So this holiday season no matter how bleak your situation may look, be thankful for what God is doing in your life, and remember He takes the bad and turns it around for His good.

Grace, Peace, & Eat Well

God Is In The Burger

2010-11-02T10:12:00.003-07:00

My wife and I were talking the other day about what to get to eat (no surprise there). We thought a hamburger sounded good. So we decided to go to a restaurant that she hasn't been to since college, and I had never been to. We both ordered a burger and fries, but was surprised when we bit into it how bad it was. Now by all accounts to most people, it would have been considered a great burger. But to us, it wasn't good at all.

Why? Well after we left we starting talking about the experience. We realized that though most people would think that what we ate was a great burger, but it was because they never had a REALLY GOOD burger. They are used to the fast food industry that slaps frozen patties on a grill and serves us food that is not only bad tasting, but bad for us. Why then, do we keep going back? Because it's cheap? Because it's fast? The burgers we ate didn't fit into either of those criteria! So, what is it then? It's the fact that we don't know any better. We are so bombarded with marketing material telling us to eat at certain places that we have forgotten what real food tastes like.

There is a saying that God is in the details. I believe that is true. My wife and realized that we didn't like our meal because we were used to the hamburgers that I make. Fresh ground meat, fresh produce, fresh cut potatoes for fries, etc. It's the fact that I take the time to marinade the meat before I grill it. I mince the onion and pickles and mix it into the hamburger. It's the extra little steps that make the burger better.

God is the same way. He is all around, in everything. He is in the details! Think about it, if God wasn't about details He wouldn't have created us the way He did. Our body is constantly regenerating new cells, our heart will beat over 2 billion times in your lifetime, even Charles Darwin said that the human eye was so complex that it alone is proof that God exists. That's crazy!

So whatever you do from here on out pay attention to the details. I know that is hard for some of us (including me, especially me). God made sure to pay attention to details in creation, and so should we.

Grace & Peace, and Eat Well!

Purple People Leader 1

2010-10-25T12:25:00.002-07:00

Hey Everyone!

So I have decided to change up this blog a little bit. The notes for our services will still be available through our website and Facebook, but this blog is going to take a slight turn. There will still be lots of God's Word in it, but we are going to start to feature some more about food and our tasting service. I hope you enjoy the changes, be looking for them beginning next week.

Tim

Prayer Part 3

2010-10-04T15:54:00.002-07:00

So this last week we started talking about praying in the Holy Spirit and how He makes intercession for us according to the will of God.

Romans 8:27-28

When we pray in the Spirit, God works everything together or good because we have been walking with him.

Now understand that we can't just make a blanket statement, all things work together for good. It is subject to walking with the Spirit, praying in the Spirit, praying God's perfect will. Then all things work together for good.

See praying in the Spirit takes us out of the equation and puts God into it. When we pray in a language we understand, Satan can jump in and bring a thought or lie to us. But when we pray in our heavenly language only God can understand it. So it takes out the doubt and the fear that we may have and puts in the strength and courage of God.

1 Corinthians 14:4

Now here is one of my favorite things about praying in the Spirit. When we pray in the Spirit we are edifying ourselves. We are praying to God about ourselves and He is preparing us for our future. He is working inside of us to get the junk out so that we can fulfill His calling without us even realizing it at the time.

So this week make it a point to spend extra time praying in the Spirit. Let God work in you this next week to get you ready for what he has called you to do.

Next we will look deeper into receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Prayer Continued

2010-09-29T10:46:00.000-07:00

We started to talk about the Holy Spirit and how to gain a better understanding of the Spirit of God.

Romans 8:14-15

Notice that is says that they were led by the Spirit. They were not led by their emotions, fears, what is popular, what the stock reports say, what the news says. But they were led by the Spirit! So how do we follow the Spirit? I'm glad you asked!

Verse 15 uses the word witness. Notice that it didn't say the Holy Spirit will show you in the clouds, or give you a sign, or he will show up like in the Touched by an Angel TV show. The Holy Spirit leads us by an inward witness, that still small voice inside of you.

We just have to learn how to hear that still small voice. We learn how to hear it by practice, prayer, and talking to God. I once heard a preacher say that that old saying Practice Makes Perfect was not true. The truth is whatever you practice you make permanent!

The witness of the Holy Spirit will establish what is true for the circumstances in your life, and He will enable you to know which way to go, and what choice to make in any situation. The Holy Spirit can even help you in your weakness!

Romans 8:26

Weakness is the lack of ability to produce a result. The Holy Spirit is there to helps us produce the results in our life that God desires for us, even if we don't know how.

So stand fast in God in all circumstances that may be going on in your life right now, and practice listening to the Holy Spirit this week. Next week we will continue this awesome series on prayer!

Prayer Series

2010-09-09T14:57:00.001-07:00

We have been talking about Prayer in Coffee Grounds, so here are some notes from the series so far.

John 16:23-24

These verses hold the foundation, or the basis of our prayer life. Those simple statements from Jesus give us almost everything we need to have a successful prayer life. Everything we prayer we have to pray in the name of Jesus! Now remember, you can't pray for things that are contrary to God. Examples: you can't pray that God would kill your cheating boyfriend, or help you to score some weed this weekend. But if it lines up with the Word of God, ask for it in the name of Jesus and expect it to happen.

When you come before God in prayer in the name of Jesus, you are coming with authority. We need to walk in the authority that we have been given. Understand that there is power in your prayers, because of the authority that you have been given. Stand on, claim it, and see it come to pass.

That is all for now, part 2 of this series is coming next week.

See you then!

Big News!

2010-09-01T18:35:00.002-07:00

Hey there everyone!

In case you haven't heard Coffee Grounds is making a huge move! We are moving from Sunday nights over to Saturday nights. No more staying out late Sunday and then getting up early Monday to go to work or school. Now you can stay out late and get up at the crack of Noon and go to the 1 pm service at Living Word. Now there are a lot more benefits to moving days than just this. Come out and check us out and see them for yourself.

Grace and Peace!

Mastering the Art of Living Pt 2

2010-07-26T14:36:00.001-07:00

Hey everyone,

Here is the 2nd part of our series Mastering the Art of Living, Enjoy!

We live in a world that is so fast paced. We have fast food, Minute Rice, 59 Second Rice, instant messaging, Gogurt (yogurt for people on the go), etc. Technology allows us to get a ton of stuff done in a short amount of time, but it has huge ramifications on being fully present in life.

So many of us are cram our food down our mouth and then we are off to do what ever it is we need to do. However, in Jesus' time it was custom to sit down for a 3 hour meal. 3 HOURS! Now you might be saying to yourself, well I got stuff to do (Like Jesus didn't?), or I am trying to change the world here (Um, like Jesus wasn't?). These meals were a time when something holy was taking place, relationships were being built.

So as we go forth this next week, working on slowing down, look around you instead of whats ahead. Then focus on building relationships with people. After all, God created us for relationship with Him, so building relationships is embedded in our DNA.

Mastering the Art of Living Pt 1

2010-07-06T14:26:00.001-07:00

We looked into John 10:10, and saw that Jesus has come to give us the best possible life we can have and to give it to us in the fullest way possible. Please note that the best possible life doesn't mean the easiest, cheapest, or least confusing life.

The first thing we need to learn to live the best possible life is to learn how to fully present today. When God told Moses to go to the top of the mountain and BE on top of the mountain, it wasn't a trick question. God was telling Mose to get to the top of the mountain and to just be present with God. He didn't want Moses to worry about getting back down or what was going to happen next. He wanted Moses to just enjoy being in His presence.

How many of us get so wrapped up in where we are going next that we forget to be in the moment of where we are and thank God for bring us to where we are?

How about your family and friends? We have all had the time that we should be listening to someone who is talking to us, but we are thinking about groceries, the game, work, or whatever. We need to learn to be present with the people that we care about, to truly be in conversations with them. When we learn how to do this we will be amazed at how well our relationships grow.

So step 1 to Master the Art of Living: Learn to be in the moment, be present in every situation.

Grace and Peace!

2009-12-28T16:14:00.001-07:00

Grace and Peace

2009-09-26T09:00:00.003-07:00

We are going to start this series talking about Grace and Peace.

Philippians 1:1-2

Paul starts out ever letter he writes with this idea of grace and peace. So what exactly is grace and peace? I am glad you asked.

Grace: comes from Greek word Charis. Charis comes from Corinne, which is a first century greeting. Scholars suggest that Grace here should be translated of joy, satisfaction, acceptance, a favor done without an expectation of return. Grace is the absolute free expression of the love of God finding its only motives in the bounty and benevolence of God.

Peace comes from Shalom (Hebrew) harmony or every kind of good araina (Greek) Joy, pleasure, acceptance, and every kind of good to you. It is only future tense every other tense is present.

I don't know about you, but I need grace and peace in my life. I need grace and peace spoken to me and I need to hear it, I need to be reminded of it. What would life be like if we started everything we did with grace and peace to you? What would it be like if we are so rooted in grace and peace that we could forgive people. We need grace and peace for our enemies, Paul did. He wrote this letter while in prison. He was shackled, deprived of things of everyday life, ready to die, and still says best of all things to you.

We should want to have grace and peace on the front of our mind and our lips. Let us be committed as a community of believers to help each other speak grace and peace over each other.

Homework: How can you better speak grace and peace over friends, family, co-workers, and others that you come across everyday?

Grace and Peace to you!

Philippians

2009-08-31T15:56:00.002-07:00

Alright everyone;

I have finally got the series we are currently on in Coffee Grounds ready to upload. So stay tuned over the next few days you are going to be getting hit hard with updates. Talk to you soon.

Grace and Peace,

Tim

We are Back!

2009-08-19T09:49:00.002-07:00

Hey everyone,

Coffee Grounds in back in action this weekend. We will be continuing our series on "Why the Best Letters Come From Prison" a study of the Philippians. You don't want to miss it.

Also, mark your calendars because on September 19th we will be having an 80's BBQ. That's right, I said 80's. Come out in your 80's clothes and join us for food, fun, swimming, and 80's movies after dark. Be sure to BYOB/BYOC/BYOHD (Bring your own beef, chicken, or hot dogs). A flyer with all the details will be posted soon.

Grace and Peace,
Tim

Slight Change

2009-08-11T19:55:00.003-07:00

Hey everyone!

I just wanted let you know that this weekend (8-16-09) we Drs. Tom and Maureen and Pastor Scot and Pastor Jason will be teaching. And we will be starting at 5:00pm instead of 6. So, come out and join us for this very special weekend.

Grace and Peace,

Tim

We are all leaders, but do we realize it?

2009-07-28T16:42:00.001-07:00

Heroes Take the Lead

We lead people. The questions are “do we realize we are leaders?” and “where are we leading them to?

As a follower of Jesus you lead yourself in God’s Word, in His will, and in His plans for your own life. You lead your life through your daily choices, decisions, and actions. As a Christian, you lead your relationships into the will of God and into the good things He has for you. In addition, you are leading the people you are around. You may not have the title as a manager, director, pastor, or leader, but in reality you are leading people every day of your life by your example, by your spirit, by your modeling. So regardless of age, job, position you are a leader. You may not be leading people into God’s plan, but you are leading them somewhere.

There are 8 things that a leader must posses.
1. Compassion
2. Vision
3. Strategy
4. Relationships
5. Faith
6. Energy
7. Follow-through
8. Renewal

1. Compassion

Compassion is the motivating factor for every leader. Love is the only force with enough power to move you to Godly success.

Mark 1:40-42

Jesus healed the leper out of compassion

We see that people often say I know God is able, but don’t think He is willing. But Jesus answered that I am willing. When the love of God is motivating you, you will succeed.
We can’t use our powers for evil. We often are motivated in a negative way. We try to manipulate people. Kids manipulate parents, boys manipulate girls, or we are friends with people to get something from them. Do you do the same with God? A lot of people do. They kind of pray here and there, but when the diagnosis is cancer then they get serious.

See Jesus healed the leper out of love, and when you and I are motivated by love we will begin to live life at a higher level. If you are motivated with love, you have a power, a source, strength, and a motivation that will enable you to be the kind of person that really has an effect on your world.

2. Vision

Vision enables us to see what God wants us to build. Some may call these goals, or dreams. Whatever you call it, the key is to right it down. Whether it is about your spouse, your job, finances, whatever it is be sure get it down.

Habakkuk 2:2

Study done on college graduates 83% had no goals, 14% had goals but didn’t write them down and after 15 years were worth the same amount as 83%, 3% wrote down their goals and was worth 10X more.

A visionary sees it before it is done.

Joshua 6:1-2

Verse 1 it is shut up, verse 2 God said he gave to Joshua’s hand which was it? How about David and Goliath? David had to see himself defeating Goliath before he did. They details may be fuzzy, but we need to focus on the vision God has given to us.

3. Strategy

If vision is the “what”, then strategy is the “how”. An effective leader has a strategy to fulfill the plan God has given them.

Proverbs 3:13-16

Wisdom is the key element. How are you going to accomplish your vision, by wisdom and understanding. Just because you have a vision doesn’t mean you will fulfill it. We have to understand that God doesn’t live our life, we do. So if someone asks how are you going to fulfill your vision, don’t give him or her the “church” answer I’m going to let God do it. God blesses the work of our hands. You have to do something.

4. Relationships

We need good relationships with God, family, and people who will move us forward. We are not lone rangers or people who do it all. Even out in the world 9 times out of 10 people skills are more important that tech skills. You have to be able to deal with people.

5. Faith

Faith is important to God, we fight the good fight of faith, we pray the prayer of faith, and we walk by faith, we overcome by faith. God is watching for faith, He responds to faith.
Our faith is manifested in our words.

Mark 11:14, 21-23

You have to speak to your circumstances and then believe that it is done. You have to be able to stand in the fact that it is done, even if you cant see it yet.

Remember faith is not a feeling. It’s a decision to believe and speak the word of God.

6. Energy

A leader stays “up” and lives by the Holy Spirit. We don’t try to get fired up as leaders, we are always fired up. Now this doesn’t mean that we must have a bubbly, outgoing personality. It means that we don’t let the emotions of a rough day effect us.

Proverbs 23:7

We must understand that our emotions follow our thinking. Philippians say we must think on good things. When we think on good things our emotions are up and our energy is up.

7. Follow-through

A good leader will follow-through and outlast the enemy. They are still standing when the enemy gives up. He is still standing when the devil gets tired and goes home. A good leader never quits, never stops, and doesn’t fail. Col. Sanders went to 1,009 people to buy is chicken recipe. On 1,010 someone said yes. Thomas Edison effectively found over 10,000 ways that a light bulb doesn’t work. Some might see those as failures, those people are not good leaders.

Hebrews 10:36

This is not a sprint, it is a marathon

James 1:2-4

Patience, Patience, Patience

Remember that Good things and God take time. Good marriages take years of communication, learning, growing, and enduring with each other. Love never fails!

8. Renewal
*See blog Take Time to Recharge

Recharge

2009-07-28T16:37:00.003-07:00

As promised, here is the whole teaching on Time to Recharge.

Heroes’ have a place relax and recharge. Superman had his Fortress of Solitude, Batman had the Batcave, the X-Men had the X-Mansion, Teen Titans have the Titan Tower, etc., etc, etc. Were do we have? We have God.

Isaiah 40:28-31

Do you not know? Have you not heard? (Divine sarcasm) Even if we are tired, weak, stumble we are renewed and refreshed with God’s strength. How do we recharge? Glad you asked. We recharge by becoming more like Jesus.

4 Keys

1. A continual process

We must renew our minds and lives continually with the Word of God. To renew something means to take what is old and give it back for something new. When you go to renew your drivers license you have to give the old one back. If you don’t have something old, you can’t get something new. It’s an exchange. When you renew your life you bring a new way of acting, thinking, living into play.

Genesis 1:2

God was moving, creating therefore change and growth took place. We know if something is alive by checking to see if it moves. If you get comfortable then you are not moving, and if you are not growing you are still moving, just closer to the cemetery.

2. Transformed like Jesus

Romans 12:2

To be in God’s perfect will, you must renew your mind. The renewing of your mind causes a transformation to take place in your life. The end result is that you will no longer be like the world. Just because you go to church, listen to sermons; read the Bible doesn’t mean you will be transformed. It happens when you purposefully change the way you think. Now this is not an easy task. You have to work through your defensiveness, your insecurities, your desire to cover up your foolishness and your mistakes.

Somewhere around the ages of 18-24 we start getting this “I’m an adult now” mentality and think that we have to have it all together and know what is going on. So we become more defensive and insecure. This makes it more difficult to learn. God wants us to be like children. He wants us to be able to learn, not just gather more data.

3. Put on the New Man

Colossians 3:9-10

We have to constantly get new knowledge to keep learning, growing, and changing. We need to actively be involved in changing anything that is not like Jesus. Jesus controlled His flesh, so we need to bring our flesh under control. If we have a hard time building relationships, with openness and honesty like Jesus did, then we need to make changes.

To become more like Jesus we have to go from a natural attitude to a Biblical attitude.
Natural says: I can’t do this because of my parents, race, sickness, and culture.
Biblical says: I can do all things through Christ.

4. Rest

Jesus to took time to rest. Fatigue can be costly, 1 bad decision can create countless tragedies. Rest and recreation are not sin. Rest time is repair time. It is not a loss of productivity; it is a time of renewing to help release your potential.

Jesus was an action man, a people person. He produced, healed, preached, taught.

Mark 6:31

Think about it. Everyday Jesus faced hundreds of thousands of the sick and afflicted that screamed for His attention. But He separated Himself to receive. See Jesus knew he could only give away what he possessed. Work time is giving, rest time is receiving. You must have both! Faith walks out when fatigue walks in.

Time to Recharge

2009-07-27T21:19:00.003-07:00

So, I am sitting in the meeting hall here at the Transit High School summer camp in Prescott. I just got done teaching on how superheroes (theme of the camp) need to recharge. Superman had his Fortress of Solitude, Batman had the Bat Cave. Well, we have something better. We can run to God. See when we are tired, frustrated, weak, etc. God is strong. He renews us, Isaiah 40:31.

Remember, no matter how bad things get and how much we want to just give up God gives us strength. There are 4 things to remember to recharge our lives with God.

1. Change and renewal is a continual process. We have to continue to grow and get better. If we are not growing we are still moving, just closer to the cemetery.

2. Transform your mind. We all get that time in our life that we think we know it all. Or how about the fact that we always try and cover up things, no matter how small. Romans 12:2 says to capture our thoughts to renew our minds. In order to change we have to change the way we think.

3. Put on the new man. Look plain and simple God created us in His image, and we can do all things through Him who gives us strength. Stop saying you can't because of what your family is like, because of your past, a sickness, or your culture. Get over it! Your excuses are worthless.

4. Rest. Don't send yourself to an early grave because your a work-aholic. Take time to rest, to seek God. Otherwise, we get burned out and start to hate what we do. Even Jesus took time to seek God and to get away and rest.

Anyway, that's is just a brief description of what we talked about tonight. Tomorrow is all about leadership.

Grace and Peace
-Tim

P.S. I give you the full scoop in a few days

Reflections at the Cabin

2009-07-13T18:52:00.001-07:00

So every year Margaret and I get away for a few days to relax and seek God and to plan out our next year. This year we were blessed by some friends who let us use their cabin in Prescott. As I was sitting out on the front porch of the cabin sipping my Starbucks and looking out over the valley below, I couldn’t help but think about how great God is.

I mean it is just absolutely breathtaking here. It really made me reflect on how blessed we really are. We live in the most blessed and prosperous country in the world. We live in a house with clean running water, electric, indoor plumbing, etc. How about cars most of us at least 1 car, some of us have 2 or more cars.

Just think about it for a second, over 1 billion people in the world don’t have clean drinking water. Another billion people go without food, and several million of those are children. Did you know that half of the world’s population (3 billion people) live on less than $2.50 per day. That’s equal to an iced venti sweetened green tea at Starbucks, I drink like 3 of those a day (one of them right now). And here we are, as a society, grumbling about how we need a new car or a bigger house so we can keep up with the “Joneses”. Want to find out where you fall in the worlds wealth poopulation? Then check out the Global Rich List.

Did you go? What did you think?

Now understand that this is NOT one of those blogs about how you have to give up everything in life. God wants us to prosper, He wants to bless us. I just want you to think about what you are doing with your blessing. Are you keeping it all for yourself or are you blessing others? God told Abraham that because he was blessed by God, then those that came after him would be blessed also. In other words, he was blessed to be a blessing to others. That is what we are supposed to be, a blessing to others. You can still live in a nice house and drive a nice car, but don’t let those things become your purpose. Matthew 6:33 says to “seek first the kingdom of God and all these things will be added to you. Layman’s terms, build God’s house first, then He will build yours.

Want to get involved? Don’t know where to start? There are a lot of great organizations around that go and help people all over the world. You have to find one that is right for you. I would recommend starting with your church. Churches have ties to missionaries and local organizations that reach out to people in various ways. For example, you can check out Winners’ Team Foundation. They send out missionaries all over the world, are building homes and clean water supplies in Cambodia, and a whole list of local events to help those in need.

I want challenge you to figure out what you can do to be a blessing to others from now on.

Grace and Peace to you.

The Juice

2009-07-13T18:51:00.000-07:00

Life is full of pressure. There is pressure from friends, pressure from the boss at work, pressure from family, and the list goes on. With all the pressure that is around us, there are times that we may feel overwhelmed. We may not know what to do in life. Science shows us that ordinary, everyday, dirty coal turns into a diamond when it is placed under extreme pressure. You have a choice to make everyday. Are you going to take that next step to becoming a diamond, or are you going to stay coal.

James 1:2-4

My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

Life is a matter of perspective. How do you look at those problems that are pressuring you in life? James said to count it all joy. Joy? Is he crazy? Nope, he understood that if you change your perspective you can change your outcome in life. If you look at your problems differently, you change your attitude. If you change your attitude you change your outcome. The key is that you need to capture your thoughts by the renewing of your mind. In other words, you need to change your mindset and how you think about things.

What pressures do you have in your life right now? Over the next 21 days (that is how long it takes to form a habit) begin to look at those situations differently, look at them with joy.

Pull the Weeds

2009-07-13T18:50:00.000-07:00

We all have weeds growing in our life. The question we need to ask is whether or not we realize it. This is our biggest issue today. We don't realize that certain things or even people in our life are weeds that are hindering us from being all that God wants us to be. Here are just a few things you can do to help pull the weeds out of your life.

Steps for Pruning
Assume responsibility
People don't want to take responsibility for their problems. We want to blame everything on the government, our boss, or our parents who wounded our inner child for where we are or aren't and for what we experience.

"Don't ever be afraid to admit you were wrong. It's like saying you're wiser today than you were yesterday." Ann Landers

My attitude is, "I worked hard at that mistake. Why would I want to share the credit?"

Ask forgiveness
1 John 1:9
"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

Notice it doesn't say anything about feeling forgiven, it just says we will be forgiven.

Accept Christ's forgiveness
Psalms 103:11-12
"For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us."

Isaiah 43:18-19
"Do not remember the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing…"

I accept His forgiveness by faith based on what He promises in His Word. You say, "But you don't understand how many times I mess up." Peter asked Jesus how many times he was to forgive his brother. "Up to 7 times," Jesus said. "I tell you 7 x 70 times." That is 490 times. Jesus doesn't tell us to do something He doesn't do Himself.

Adjust
What matters more than where you have been is where you are going. It is hard to drive a car looking in the rear view mirror, so why do we try and drive our lives looking back on the past. Look forward to where God is taking you

Romans 13:14
"But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts."

Pack Your Bags

2009-07-13T18:15:00.000-07:00

What is your destination? Where are you going with your life? Some of you probably have a blank look on your face right now, some of you may have no clue, some may know exactly. We all have a God given purpose in life. Whether or not we are living in it is what we need to realize. There are 3 key things that we need to keep in mind when we talk around purpose.

Key 1: Look forward from you starting point

We all need a starting point. Start where you are at now. the important thing to always remember is to stay focused in your future, or what is ahead. It is hard to drive a car when you are looking behind you, it is even harder to drive your life that way. Where is it that you want to go in your life, job, finances, marriage, or other relationships. Take a minute to write down a vision of where it is you want to go.

Key 2: Watch the mile markers

We get overwhelmed with life at times. Vision is always bigger than what you can accomplish by yourself. That's alright, it should be. That is why you need people around you that can help you and support you in what it is that God has called you to do. Celebrate those things in life that help you get to the next level of your life. Time after time people get tired and worn down because they want to celebrate the end result, and they do everything themselves. This is a great way to die young.

Key 3: Who's vision is it

There are times in life that we get caught up with everything that goes on in our life. When this happens we often put God in the passenger seat. When this happens we often get off track and off purpose. We have to remember that it is God that gave us the vision to begin with. Life is not about what we can do, but what God can do through us. When we can finally grab onto that our life will never be the same. Take the next hour and spend time with God. Be sure to spend time just listening. It is important to listen to God, and not just spend time talking to Him.