to yp summit 09...

so this morning spent some time listening to...

dave edwards...traveling communicator

darren w. from axis (willow creek)

jay strack from student leadership university

francis chan from cornerstone church - cali

david nasser from iran - grew up in the US and is now speaking everywhere

the lead singer from 3rd day

shane 1 of shane and shane and some other great musicians

good folks in good places all doing different things. it just reminded me on how organized God is. all of us doing different things at the same time and yet it's all part of the same picture/puzzle.

lots of good things raising lots of good questions among my staff and internally. good stuff today. looking forward to spending time in break out sessions tomorrow morning and finishing with francis chan again tomorrow afternoon.

keep you posted with more

i miss my wife and son. 

to cf live...

so just want to put it out there

cf live will be happening this weekend at 6.30 pm at cf palmetto bay - it will feel like a service with an extended time of worship and a powerful message by pastor rick

this saturday night only at 8.30 pm, right afterwards, the music portion will be repeated; no message or child care

hope to see you guys there!

to slum dog millionaire...

besides the fact that the movie is a good one, even great one (if you haven't seen it, it's a good one to watch -- much thanks to our friends at fox for the home preview)

something that happened while i watched...i sensed God stirring, yet again.

i was reminded of perspective. over 90 million people living on less than $1 american, per day. this weekend alone i went out to eat twice and spent about an average of $10 per plate -- for one meal.

i know that life here is different. i get that. but knowing that life here is different doesn't change the fact that life over 'there' (wherever there is) is still going on; regardless of me being there or not. 

so i wrestle with stewardship...

-my resources

-my time

i realized that while i'm busy here doing great things for God, i've forgotten about those out 'there'... He still cares deeply for them.

that's what i'm wrestling with...and it hurts.

to the unruined life..

fyi

this weekend we start the new series about dealing with the bad things in each of us -- the jekyll hyde problem

check it out

www.cffamily.org

to saying thanks...

so as i was reading this morning, i came across this passage that made me think. 

in summary, 10 marginalized men needed physical help. Jesus helps all 10 of them, but only one of them comes back to say 'thanks.' His response is 'where are the other nine?'

am i really thankful for all the blessings that i receive; both big and small?

have i really done a good job saying 'thank you' to God and those that He uses to bless me?

i found my self going thru today's events and realizing that there is a bunch of stuff to be thankful about, but unless i would have stopped to reflect on it, i probably would have gone about my regular business and not saying thanks.

have you stopped to say thank you to God or others that He has used to care for you?

has anyone ever stopped to thank you?

let us hear about it

to public educators aka teacher...

so we've been working through some things called 'reach beyonds' 

these are opportunities for people to serve others beyond their current circles of life

our emphasis in feb and march will be to serve the teachers of miami-dade county; for their work and effort in serving our children

this is a shout out to mrs brown, my first grade teacher at village green elem. 

i love her, she always gave me more cookies and taught me about verbs!

any way, we all have fav teachers or teachers that we remember for good reasons

this blog is going out to them

who's your fav teacher and why?

to a random update...

so it's been a while. for all of you out there, lots going on. ministry to continues to move forward and change. that's good. health is back to normal, that's good. 

dave started daycare and is on his way to being potty trained.

adriana started her new ft job - that's a blessing

we joined christ fellowship church - we are serving in their missions dept in the palmetto bay and downtown campuses. i got to teach this morning...it went well.

like i said, lots of good things been happening, but they've been happening pretty quickly.

just wanted to update blogland of what has become. looking forward to hearing from you all soon

to history...

so as we get ready for a historic moment in US history, just wanted to remind folks not to get too busy to miss it.

it's not just another holiday or just another inauguration. for what ever it's worth, whether one voted for obama or not, it's history. 

if you wanna see the impact first hand, you are all invited to watch the inauguration with me at Greater St. Paul AME church, in the West Grove (miami), fl. it's a predominantly african/haitian community; low income. we will be showing the live feed of the inauguration plus a moving word from general colen powell earlier. events begin at 9 - filled with words of inspiration, art, performance, food, and history. if you plan on going, please call the number below to rsvp

come and watch the impact of this event on a community near you. fyi, food will be served for free, just be sure to call ahead of time

Greater St Paul AME Church

3680 Thomas Avenue Miami Florida 33133

(305) 448-2742

to a busy week...

it's been a week full of adventures and opportunity

so here's what i'm learning...

1. opportunity in difficult times is a blessing and reaffirms what one is doing, whether the opportunity is taken or not

2. i'll have an opportunity to work with Disney from now till the end of feb as an area publicist for a some stuff that they are promoting among the faith community in miami

3. ministry organization will lead to ministry sustainability and longevity

4. working with like-minded people makes life so much easier

5. contract negotiations are always a challenge

6. people will always be people

to team...

during my reading in Luke, Jesus was chatting with people who wanted more of a sign from him

he talked to them and the mentioned something huge:

23"He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me, scatters.

it's pretty cut and dry. you are either on my team or you are not. i began to wonder about this passage and then thought, would Jesus consider me a team member of his?

i think He would, however, i think he may mention that i've got some pretty bad tendencies. tendencies that remind Him of the other team. bad habits that need to be changed in order to be more effective on His team.

part of my desire it to gather with Him and not be scattered by myself.

to unisexual family gatherings...

so today i was at a family gathering celebrating the festive 'baby shower' event. the catch was that it was not my direct family, it was family of a family member on my wife's side.

needless to say, i observed a few things that are typical in my culture...good, bad, and ugly.

good - watching family come together is always good

bad - watching divorced family members see each other and sensing the tenseness in the air makes the whole experience just plain weird

ugly - watching grown men participate in stupid games - old men drinking bad booz out of mini kid bottles is just wrong (don't make people do those stupid games, serve the food, get the gifts, and get out)

that's a bit of my cultural experience today.

how is the culture on your side of life?

to 09!

09 is going to be an incredible year.

i know it.

what are you hoping happens this year?

to a new year...

so here a couple of the good things happening in 09

1. new year day at approximately 12.10 am during the ny's day party there was a malfunction with the fire works...they attacked the spectators. it was pretty funny. a bottle rocket punch and a dive into the pool with a dry i-phone were among the highlights of the evening. it sucked for the injured parties, but it was a funny entrance into the new year. for those injured, my condolences. 

2. partnerships at work continue to expand. it's gonna be a great ministry year

3. adriana has had a couple of job interviews line up...God seems to be up to something with her

4. ministry seems to keep expanding to new levels...we'll see where that takes us this year

5. my son can say about 25 words, hopefully he'll be speaking by the end of the year

that's not too bad considering it's the first week of the year. 

i've heard that the best is yet to come

happy new year!

to time off...

so to the next thing that i'm thankful for...time off. the holidays provide some good family quality time that can become so easily overlooked from january to november. 

in light of the tough times, being pressed financially actually helps one focus on what matters most, like what Christmas is actually about. 

it also helps get to get some needed r & r.

to the holidays and the days off that come with it!

to my kidneys...

so i've been in the hospital since monday with an infection of the kidney AND i have been fortunate enough to also have a kidney stone develop at the same time....yeah me!

so todays special blog goes out to the twins behind the scenes, tom and jerry as i like to call them. besides doing what they do everyday, my kidneys have been troopers through the last 4 days, 8 vomits, 2 doses of morphine, and the flavorless soup that they've been fed at the hospital. 

in case you didn't know it, you need your kidneys...at least one. they filter all liquids that enter your body and then they work to get the liquid out; especially the bad liquids. so to all of you that are about introducing harmful things into the body, watch out, it will get you.

hopefully i'll be leaving the hospital todays as i've been able to recover nicely thanks to the folks at south miami hospital. 

to my kidneys...the ultimate digestive warriors. 

to little dave...

so the next great gift that i get to celebrate is my kid...little dave. one thing they forget to tell you when you join the parenthood club, the cuter they are, the more they try to get away with. 

although i have my days when i feel like doing something wrong or stupid, all he has to do is climb up my lap, grab my ears, and say 'daddy.' 

i'm done. if God ever gives us a little girl, then it's really over at that point. 

little dave is mean and tough, but he's mine.

just to finish off, i can remember what life was like without dave, but i can't imagine life without him now. 

i love him.

to adriana...

this christmas season, i plan to highlight some of the best gifts that i've ever received. gift number 1...adriana, my hot wife!

it's hard for me to say anymore, except that she is an amazing compliment/completion to me. if you don't know her, you should get to know her. she makes me a better man.

merry xmas!

ps. thnx merari for you skills with the camera

to giving thanks...

so it's the saturday after thanksgiving. this is probably the most relaxing thanksgiving that i've experienced in about 5 years. it's kind of weird...takes time getting used to it. 

so this is what my holiday was like...

tues - thanksgiving celebration with home church...about 20-25 in attendance; nice

wed - handling business at work till about 5.30 pm

thurs - spent time with the fam...ate and then watched true blood episodes 8-11; nice again

fri - worked on some stuff at home; worked on a friend's wedding and then worked to make sure the ceremony went well...it was lovely

sat - watched dream girls (i wish i could sing or have soul would be cool enough) spent good time with adriana and little dave; started reading 'good to great; social sectors'

needless to say, i was very thankful for the time to stop. it's important to hit the breaks from time to time in order to rest and refocus. 

he's what i gathered on thanksgiving reflection...

-thankful to God (for everything)

-thankful to wife (for almost everything)

-thankful for son (he is developing so quickly)

-thankful for fam (their support is incredible)

-thankful for friends (many of them seem to get it; incredible)

so, i'm just plain thankful.  what about you? why are you thankful?

to compassion and action...

tonight i read about compassion...luke 7. it's always incredible to read that Jesus cares and then he shows you how. he not only sees needs, he works to meet them.

lots to learn here. we can pray, which is good. but faith is a verb. something that needs to be placed into action. 

we can offer God to people and they may even choose to follow him, but that does not change their situation, whatever it may be. 

for example, a hungry person trusts in God and we pray. they will still be hungry right afterwards.

an illiterate person begins to follow God, they still can't read.

a person suffering from illness confesses Christ, they are still ill.

help me understand...what is the role of those who call themselves Christ followers?

how far are we to go? what are we supposed to do?

i know we are to pray. but then what? what does one do next?

help me out. 

to learning...

so it's been about 7 months since i began my current role at my job...i've learned a lot.

needless to say, with that learning comes responsibility and opportunity. one of which i will be executing tomorrow. 

it has to do with addressing fellow personnel and talking with them about the hard stuff; evaluation, reflection, suggestions, and then sometimes, it means letting the wrong folks go in order to get the right folks in.

"it's not you, it's me" doesn't work in this arena.

needless to say, i'm learning and i'm sure that i will keep learning. the best teacher, "on the job training."

what's the greatest lesson/principle that you've learned in 2008?