The Chapter Has Come to a Close

Tonight was our last service at Clarksville First Assembly of God.  We have put an end to 6 1/2 years of ministry there.  For Carlo and I, tonight was very bittersweet.  We were sad to say goodbye to friends and people who are like family to us, but we're also excited about the next chapter of our lives.

We don't have a definite answer to the, "Where are you going next?" question.  We can and will say that Carlo will be speaking at Xtreme Ministries the first 3 Sundays of August.  We are pretty positive that we will be the lead pastors at Xtreme, but we haven't been told we have the position and we aren't going to presume.

The church gave us a going-away reception tonight after service.  Pastor Montoya had a money tree set up for people to bless us and show us their appreciation for our time of ministry at the church.  This totally took us by surprise.  Even more humbling was the attendance at the reception, and the gifts we were given.  We never expected or asked for it, but God is good and we were blessed beyond compare tonight.

Stay tuned to find out what's going on around here!

Stupid Decisions

Yesterday I read a blog that talked about stupid decisions. The blogged really touched on the murder of football star Steve McNair, and how his one stupid decision led to many more that ultimately led to his death. The author of the blog talked about phrases like, "But for the grace of God there go I," and how just one decision we make affects so many others. I don't know if you know about the the "Butterfly Effect" if you've seen the movie (extremely lame), or possibly the episode of Scrubs (hilarious), but basically, the "Butterfly Effect" is this: if you kill a butterfly that lands somewhere around you, how would the ripples of this affect the world. Could that butterfly be the last of its kind and now that you've killed it before it could reproduce it's extinct and we will no longer enjoy it's beauty? Did it have pollen from a tree attached to its legs that when combined with the pollen of another plant in just the right combination it produced a new type of plant that could lead to the cure of a terminal disease? The possibilities are endless, just as the possibilities are endless if you don't kill the butterfly. So why the ramble? This: When we make decisions in life the ripple of those decisions carry on through our lives. The one lie we tell turns into many more until lying becomes second nature and we can't separate truth from fiction anymore. The one person we go too far with on that innocent date leads to going further and further until we're trapped in a life on sexual sin that we don't no how to escape. That party where everyone was drinking and smoking out. You decide one drink and one joint won't hurt. Next thing you know you're on the streets doing whatever you can to score a fix. I read a Sweet Valley High book when I was younger about a girl who was pretty popular in high school despite some physical disabilities. She went to a party one night and people started doing cocaine. She made the decision to try it. Well that one hit sent her into cardiac arrest and she died. Keep in mind that this was just a book, but I'm pretty positive stuff like this happens everyday. A few years ago I had the pleasure of hearing Josh Mayo speak. He talked about playing "Jenga" with life and family. The gist of his talk was about making your family priority in life no matter what, but with lives like the ones you lead in ministry, those choices are crucial to the lives of your children. He talked a lot about making the "Pre-choice Choice." What is the Pre-choice Choice? Simple, you make decisions about things in life before they come up. You make the decision before you have kids that you will raise them in the fear and admonition of the Lord. Church is not a choice they get to make, if they live in your house, they go. You make the choice before you have kids to protect their purity. This means not playing the "They're so cute, just like a little boy/girlfriend" game with your toddlers. It means not labeling them as a heartbreaker. It means teaching them that there are more important things than the opposite sex. Teach them that they have value as a person, in your eyes and God's. Teach them to be young ladies & gentlemen. Show them the respect they need to have for the opposite sex. When the time comes talk about dating and teach them to make the Pre-choice Choices about their dating lives. No solo dates, no places that are quiet, and dark and isolated. No hang ing out in parked cars or in homes with no supervision. All these Pre-Choice choices lead to smart decisions when the time to make a choice comes, because we are set up for success. We've already made the decision to do or not do something, so there is weighing the options, we've already done it.

I think if people did more thinking and planning and made more Pre-Choice Choices, we wouldn't be caught by surprise about things and we would make sounder life choices for ourselves. Whether we make a decision in innocence and don't think about the conequences or