For me, this week has been all about space.

As many of you know, Horizon has struggled to find a space to meet in. We have been searching, and searching, and searching some more, but have come up empty. We’ve tried schools, colleges, fire houses, parks, civic buildings, etc, but nothing has worked out; that is until this week. We gave ourselves a goal to find a space to meet in by the end of the month, and after MUCH prayer and then some MORE prayer, God delivered. We will be meeting in a shared space in Wilder, KY right off of the AA Highway. It is a space that we will share with the Northern Kentucky Real Estate College, and it is one “God sized” deal, meaning that we can actually afford it. We will begin our services in this location in September so spread the word because we are going to flood this region with our message.

This week has also been about personal space. My wife and son took this week to head down to Lake Cumberland with some family. I even though I already miss them, and they’ve only been gone for one night, I think it was a good idea for them to escape for a while. Church planting is probably more taxing on the wives and kids of planters because of the burden we all carry for the project so I am glad that they could go have some fun that won’t be interrupted by any talk or thought of church planting. So, for the next week I will have some REAL space on my hands. Space that I haven’t had in say, 9 and a half months. I’m really going to soak up all I can to be as focused as I can be on them when they return.

As I mentioned in an earlier post I had the opportunity to preach at River Valley Christian Church last week on “The Cultural Gospel”. Since I feel that this subject is so much of what Horizon is being built on I wanted to share the sermon with you all. Enjoy.

LISTEN TO THE SERMON

This weekend was crazy, but GREAT! I had the chance to have dinner with a couple that is going to Nigeria in two weeks to continue their mission work in the area. It was neat to hear how the same struggles that we deal with all the time at Horizon are ones they have to deal with in Africa. It’s just funny how people are people no matter where in the world you go.

I also had the chance to teach at River Valley this weekend on the “Cultural Gospel”. The lesson was based of Paul’s Journey to Athens in Acts 17 and how it is vital for us to create a gospel that is culturally relevant to EVERYONE. It was just exciting to see the look in people’s eyes as we talked after church. I really feel that god used me that morning to inspire some change in people’s life, and I really get excited when God starts changing people’s mindsets.

We also had another great week of community group meetings with Horizon. We have had quite a few new people try out one of our groups and we are excited about the new relationships that have started through the groups. We’re going to be doing something big and cool as one large group soon so keep an ear out on our site for what, where, and when.

I don’t like coffee either, but when I saw this sign I just had to laugh out loud.

In case you can’t read it, the second line says that they sell, “Coffee Crappuccino”.

I love it! Coffee drinkers proceed to hate on me if you must.

This week on the way back up to Cincy/NKY we had to stop for gas. Even though we didn’t really need gas we got it because gas is about 15 cents a gallon cheaper in Louisville. As I set the nozzle on auto pilot I proceeded to clean the 4,000 some odd dead locusts off of my windshield and before I could finish I hear some guy yelling, “OVERFLOW, OVERFLOW, OVERFLOW!” By the time I realized he was talking about my car’s tank overflowing it was too late. I had paid nearly $40 for a half a tank of gas that should have cost me $25-$30.

After that on the drive north my wife and I couldn’t get it out of our minds. It was like we had just thrown $10 on the ground! Neither of us had ever had that happen to us before and we were just ticked that we waited until gas was $4.00 a gallon to have this experience.

Words of wisdom: Ye should watcheth your tanketh or it shall overfloweth!

This second entry for my “Vision for life” series is very ironic since I haven’t posted on my blog in over a week. I just wanted to point that out myself. I will give you 5 seconds to laugh at me if you wish. 1…2…3…4…5, it’s over.

I am going to stay current and be on time!
I think that one of the biggest problems that faces people in this world today is poor time management. When we aren’t up to date at work, or at home, or with anything it causes us stress. And stress inevitably causes problems with everything!

So, what does that look like for me? Something like this:

When my wife asks me to do something for her, I’M GOING TO DO IT RIGHT AWAY. That’s not always as easy as it sounds, trust me, but it is a good practice for the sanity of our marriage.

When I am thinking about something that needs to get done, I go ahead and do it. Putting something off is the best way to forget it.

When I have an appointment or meeting to get to, I’m going to center an entire half a day around making sure that I get there AT LEAST 15 minutes early. This has been a practice of mine for quite a while now, and it’s never really been hard for me, until I became a father. So, I’m going to make promptness a priority in my life.

These things may sound simple and easy, but I believe that it is simple things like these that can dramatically change your life and how you live it. They will also show people how much you care about the short time God has given you on this earth.

I believe very strongly in vision. My wife used to says that I have a vision in my head for how I’m going to mow the yard next week, and whether that is a good or bad thing that’s just the way I am. So, in light of this I thought I would share some of the vision that I have for my life in the next year or so in hopes that you might think a little about the vision and direction for your own life.

I am going to be a family centered man:
I have always had a strong bond with my family and friends, but in recent years with all of my wanderings, that bond has become a little more loose. I have seen that it truly takes effort to show your family that you still care; especially when they are in another state or country.

After the birth of my son last fall my wife and I came to the stunning realization that we didn’t spend enough intentional time together. I mean we were always together, but we were not doing anything together. We realized that to really make a family work, we had to spend intentional time together, even if we had to put that time on a calendar.

I once heard Andy Stanley speak at a conference about cheating the church and it changed my perspective forever. His point was that we all cheat something or someone in our lives, and we should strive to cheat our jobs, and in a minister’s case, the church, in favor of our family. I have tried with all my heart to live my life like that, and I think we all should think about how intentional we are with our time.