faithrunner

And you thought you had a vacation. Here are some pics from my staycation this year. Here I am demolishing our front dining room wall that had termite damage since we moved in the house in 1995. We are finally getting around to correcting it, but when we got into repairs we had to take out the entire wall . Now, I need to remember how to hang dry wall, tape and bed, texture and paint...sounds like a job to hire out. (I look like we did when we gutted houses after Hurricane Katrina. Turned out to be good training for this project.) We took a break from destroying the wall to make a visit to my parents' home in East Texas . It was a great break from all I am doing, and we had a blast. Here we are playing a form of dominoes called Mexican Train. We played it for hours ...that's Ryan next to Summer with the hat on. He's the bf. Kim won as she always does. Maybe it's because she always keeps score. Ryan also helped us split wood from a fallen tree one evening. It was still...

Saturday morning six Legacy Cyclists left the church at 5:30 a.m. to head to Cleburne for a 68.1 mile ride called tour de Goatneck . It was hot, hilly, and hard! Check out the elevation map . Okay, for those of you in Colorado or other places with real hills, stop laughing at us, but this kind of climbing is not normal for those of us in Plano. It was a good ride with everything needed for Monday morning exaggerations as we tell our stories to others. I got home in time for a shower and nap then officiate Leigh-Anne Graham and Kevin Conroy's wedding here in town. Leigh-Anne and her sister grew up at Legacy and their parents were core to who we were at the time. It was good to reconnect with the family and see their friends. The nap and Advil did the job so I could make it through the ceremony without cramping! Sunday morning was as unique as I have ever experienced. Stacey Whitt, a former youth minister at Legacy, has begun a mission outpost in his home in Humble, TX . They are ...

Someone asked me a great question about Samson after Sunday's message: Q: If it's true Samson was only thinking of himself when he pulled the supports down, why would he be in Hebrews 11 for the heroes of the faith? A: If we put everyone from the list in Hebrews 11 on the same level of their trust in God's call to them, then yes, you wonder why Samson is listed given his selfish lifestyle. When you read the passage that mentions him again, Samson is in a short list of Judges who were not so great in their faith : Barak would not fight without Debra, Gideon wouldn't trust God without the fleece miracle, and while Samson defeated the Philistines, he only prayed a couple of times--not a great sign of faith. Samuel and David are in that short list, but no details are given about their failures either. In the end, they trusted God. That's why the writer honored them. Even in their weak faith they trusted God's word in some way because they acted out God's c...

Friday I got my promotional copies of my new book An Angel in the Flame: A Tale of Two Saviors . . I am really excited about this particular book because it is the first book I wrote and then pitched to publishers. All the other books I have written someone has come to me to write. So, you can see how excited I am about this one. Thanks to Leonard Allen and Leafwood Publishers for taking the risk on me. Here's the blurb on the book from Leafwood's website: "This is a gripping tale of two saviors. Two men whom God chose to rescue his people. Two men anyone familiar with history would call heroes among their people. Two men who represent the best and worst the human experience have to offer. This tale is about Samson and Jesus. This unique book is a conversational commentary on the life of Samson with an eye to our final Savior, Jesus. Samson is an example of how most of us squander the opportunities God gives us to play a significant role in His-story. We are an angel i...

Summer is camp time for most church ministries. A week ago, I spent Monday afternoon and evening at Camp GAP with our LegacyKids . Here are some pictures from the week on Markus and Lisa's personal blog. I had a blast hanging with the students , going down the zip line, chowing down on "whatever meat that is," and celebrating with and hearing and seeing Keith Coast that evening. Check out his promo video . Our FLOOD students were at StudentLife Beach Camp at South Padre about the same time. I wish I could have made that trip, too. Okay, not the 12-hour bus ride, but the beach and happenings would have been fun. If you have a My Space account , you can check out some of their pictures. Two students from our group were baptized in the Gulf . Very nice. Troy and the team had a great experience, and I look forward to seeing the impact on our students' lives. Kim and I spent the Fourth in Waco with Cambell Grace , seen here at 2 months old! We kept her while Storey an...

Sunday we had baptism at Legacy. These are the days that become "altars in the sand" for me because they remind me God is alive and well among us and the stories of the people are why we do what we do. Three children and two adults publicly confessed their trust in Jesus as their Rescuer and Leader. Here is the story of Rob Daffin, an adult who's two-year journey to Christ has inspired me to stay on the Path. My Journey: Points on a Graph (used by permission) Youth Cultural guilt - white Alabama childhood in the 60’s. Watched Roots on TV, don’t want to be one of the bad guys. Stale taste of small-town Methodism Spiritual disenchantment. Young Man Lost in the wilderness of my own ego Self-gratifying, self-destructive Hopeless spiritual vacuum Maturity Search for meaning; a way home looking east; those bald guys on KungFu seem to have it figured out. Wisdom of the Dalai Lama, points me back. The quiet faith of my father, the death of my father God’s war of attrition, hi...

Kim and I traveled to Las Vegas last week to attend the wedding of the woman who shared cheerleader coaching at PSHS for the last four years. Leah and Jeremy got married at The Wynn Casino and Hotel wedding chapel on Friday night. She is pictured with Kim and another teacher friend, Marcie who came to be part of the experience. Leah's parents were married in Vegas 32 years ago, and Leah wanted the wedding there. Kim suggested that since our 33rd wedding anniversary was June 28 , we should go early and enjoy the sights, which meant seeing EVERY casino on the strip. We got there on Wednesday and stayed at New York New York . As you can see by the website, the casino was not for children! It was hot 107F on Thursday, but it was a "dry heat." Right. It was still hot, but the casinos work hard to keep you inside. Here's a look at the outside of NYNY, and a peak at one of the street scapes on the inside. It was nice, and I enjoyed the food and hanging with Kim. Kim inves...