My Last Blog of the Year for 2007-

This is my last blog of 2007 (my 208th!) - I am somewhat under the weather right now- staying home this evening with Debi and try to recover (I have our annual staff retreat this weekend). So much for ringing in the New Year!

On Dec 23rd I preached on the 'Dirtiest Job of all Time!' I used the theme from Mike Rowe's 'Dirtiest Jobs' and preached about the dirty side of Christmas. We have sanitized Christmas with the manger scene, scenes of snow, choruses of Peace on Earth, when in fact that night there was a lot of unpleasantness meeting Mary and Joseph. It was in to this down and dirty side that Jesus was born. The main dirty job was to destroy sin and only He could do that dirty job! You can listen to it here.

The picture above will help you see what a week we had during Christmas. The numbers will correspond to the below list:

1. Jason, Charity, and Ryan

2. Our annual Christmas morning breakfast of biscuits and gravy at Harry and Arleen's home. We were joined by the Dale Huff's.

3. Harry and Arleen opening presents.

4. Ryan and Charity opening presents at our home.

5. Debi's new cool shoes.

6. Jason's new Head Racket.

7. Santa left something big (42") for the family.

8. We hosted Christmas dinner for our family, the Harry Huff's, the Jeremy Huff's, and the Ken Allee's. We had a house full and gave presents to the children.

On Friday afternoon we went for the Trans-Siberian Orchestra concert at 3pm. Believe it or not, it was a 3 hour show! Awesome!

So, it has been a busy but fulfilling week with family. Sunday was a great day at the Vine. I am enjoying having time to relax with Debi. Ryan and Charity have returned home and Jason is in Costa Rica visiting a friend from CFNI and her family.

Thank you for visiting this blog, reading it and taking time to comment. May the Lord bless all of you with a great, fruitful, and prosperous New Year.

Are You Oversaved?

Taking a blog break, will write about my week of Christmas activities--

Well, are you or do you know someone who is?

Christmas Eve -

From the Kerr's:

Merry Christmas to all!Christmas Eve Sarajevo -- Trans-Siberian Orchestra

Troubles for Frosty!

Is this alright to post?

Stress Free Christmas!

Click on pic to see animation!

We all need a break from the stress of Christmas and life in general.

Defending Christmas -

The US House resolution honoring Christmas passed by a sizeable margin, but the House resolution honoring the Muslim of Ramadan (H. Res. 635) as well as the House resolution honoring the Hindu holiday of Diwali (H. Res. 747) both passed by a larger margin than did the resolution honoring Christmas. In fact, nine Democrats who voted for Congress to join in celebrating Ramadan and Diwali voted against honoring Christmas. The sponsor of the Christmas resolution -- Rep. Steve King -- had a strongly worded response to those members that also described the positive influence of Christianity in America.


H. Res. 847

RESOLUTION

Recognizing the importance of Christmas and the Christian faith.

Whereas Christmas, a holiday of great significance to Americans and many other cultures and nationalities, is celebrated annually by Christians throughout the United States and the world;

Whereas there are approximately 225,000,000 Christians in the United States, making Christianity the religion of over three-fourths of the American population;

Whereas there are approximately 2,000,000,000 Christians throughout the world, making Christianity the largest religion in the world and the religion of about one-third of the world population;

Whereas Christians identify themselves as those who believe in the salvation from sin offered to them through the sacrifice of their savior, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and who, out of gratitude for the gift of salvation, commit themselves to living their lives in accordance with the teachings of the Holy Bible;

Whereas Christians and Christianity have contributed greatly to the development of western civilization;

Whereas the United States, being founded as a constitutional republic in the traditions of western civilization, finds much in its history that points observers back to its roots in Christianity;

Whereas on December 25 of each calendar year, American Christians observe Christmas, the holiday celebrating the birth of their savior, Jesus Christ;

Whereas for Christians, Christmas is celebrated as a recognition of God’s redemption, mercy, and Grace; and

Whereas many Christians and non-Christians throughout the United States and the rest of the world, celebrate Christmas as a time to serve others: Now, therefore be it


Resolved, That the House of Representatives—

(1) recognizes the Christian faith as one of the great religions of the world;

(2) expresses continued support for Christians in the United States and worldwide;

(3) acknowledges the international religious and historical importance of Christmas and the Christian faith;

(4) acknowledges and supports the role played by Christians and Christianity in the founding of the United States and in the formation of the western civilization;

(5) rejects bigotry and persecution directed against Christians, both in the United States and worldwide; and

(6) expresses its deepest respect to American Christians and Christians throughout the world.

Great Church -- Great Leadership

What I like about Christmas is the opportunity to have some great times with the Vine and the Vine Leadership.

The first picture above (click on them for larger images) is of our Annual Christmas Banquet. Great food, fellowship, comedy, and heartily laughter!

The second picture is of the Staff and Leadership party that Debi and I hosted at our home. It was catered by Robin's Catering- always delicious! Again, we enjoyed ourselves with great food, fellowship, games, and gift exchange. Debi and I gave them Pastor David's Incredibly Delicious Pumpkin bread (baked by yours truly) and Debi baked her delicious Banana Bread!

God's banner over us continues to be His Love- we are at peace!

Who is This?

Could this possibly be our next President?

Wii Little Man --

Having a Wii and playing it, I can relate to Zacchaeus!

The fight for Kisses!

Report on ICA meeting last week-

I am in the airport in P'cola after attending the Globe International Board Meeting last night. Flew in yesterday afternoon, attended the 6:30pm meeting, stayed with Doug and Beth Gehman, and was taken to the airport this morning by Mike Collins.

This is a report on the International Coalition of Apostles (ICA) conference that Debi and I attended last week as a guest of Bobby Hill, who is a member representing Vanguard Fellowship.

This is a group of about 500 members that is led by C. Peter Wagner. Members include Bob Weiner, John Kelly, Bill Hamon, Chuck Pierce, Cindy Jacobs, Che Ahn, Dick Eastman, Os Hillman, Larry Kreider, Dennis Peacocke, David Shibley, Ed Silvoso- I only mentioned names I thought you might be familiar with.

First off we attended the business meeting. After that session C. Peter Wagner stirred the pot with a teaching on Open Theism vs. Classical Theism. The premise of Open Theism is that God has an open mind and may change His mind in response to us and the surrounding events. One example would be the people of Nineveh, whom God said He was going to destroy, fasting and God changing His mind and not destroying them. It created a lot of discussion and questions.

We heard teaching and dialog on Dominion Eschatology. Basically, that the church is going to do things that will hasten the return of Jesus. It challenges the traditional view of the rapture (escape mentality).

A lot was taught on Market Place ministry, wealth and wealth building. Another session was on Israel in Apostolic Perspective. And the final session was on the local church and the changes that are occurring now.

It was an eye opening time and gave us an opportunity to see another stream in the Body of Christ and their perspectives.

With all the Apostles there, there was an incredible amount of testosterone in the air.

Christmas Canon - trans siberian orchestra

For My wife, Debi:

We will be seeing them the Friday after Christmas - we are excited!

Annual Church Christmas Banquet

Tonight is our Annual Church Christmas Banquet. I love this time of the year and a chance to get together with our congregation, dress up, have great food, entertainment, and thank God for a great year!

This year we are having a Christian Comedians, Susan Burchett and Scott Smyer performing for us. A merry heart does good like a medicine! What a great way to end the year.

It should be awesome!

4 Boyfriends --

Once upon a time there was this girl who had four boyfriends.

She loved the 4th boyfriend the most and adored him with rich robes and treated him to the finest of delicacies. She gave him nothing but the best.

She also loved the 3rd boyfriend very much and was always showing him off to neighboring kingdoms. However, she feared that one day he would leave her for another.

She also loved her 2nd boyfriend. He was her confidant and was always kind, considerate and patient with her. Whenever this girl faced a problem, she could confide in him, and he would help her get through the difficult times.

The girls 1st boyfriend was a very loyal partner and had made great contributions in maintaining her wealth and kingdom. However, she did not love the first boyfriend. Although he loved her deeply, she hardly took notice of him!

One day, the girl fell ill and she knew her time was short. She thought of her luxurious life and wondered, I now have four boyfriends with me, but when I die, I'll be all alone."

Thus, she asked the 4th boyfriend, "I loved you the most, endowed you with the finest clothing and showered great care over you. Now that I'm dying, will you follow me and keep me company?"

"No way!", replied the 4th boyfriend, and he walked away without another word.

His answer cut like a sharp knife right into her heart.

The sad girl then asked the 3rd boyfriend, "I loved you all my life. Now that I'm dying, will you follow me and keep me company?"

"No!", replied the 3rd boyfriend. "Life is too good! When you die, I'm going to marry someone else!"

Her heart sank and turned cold.

She then asked the 2nd boyfriend, "I have always turned to you for help and you've always been there for me.

When I die, will you follow me and keep me company?"

"I'm sorry, I can't help you out this time!", replied the 2nd boyfriend. "At the very most, I can only walk with you to your grave."

His answer struck her like a bolt of lightning, and the girl was devastated.

Then a voice called out: "I'll go with you. I'll follow you no matter where you go."

The girl looked up, and there was his first boyfriend. He was very skinny as he suffered from malnutrition and neglect.

Greatly grieved, the girl said, "I should have taken much better care of you when I had the chance!"

In truth, you have 4 boyfriends in your lives:

Your 4th boyfriend is your body. No matter how much time and effort you lavish in making it look good, it will leave you when you die.

Your 3rd boyfriend is your possessions, status and wealth. When you die, it will all go to others.

Your 2nd boyfriend is your family and friends. No matter how much they have been there for you, the furthest they can stay by you is up to the grave.

And your 1st boyfriend is your Soul. Often neglected in pursuit of wealth, power and pleasures of the world.

However, your Soul is the only thing that will follow you where ever you go. Cultivate, strengthen and cherish it now, for it is the only part of you that will follow you to the throne of God and continue with you throughout Eternity.

Call on the name of the Lord and you shall be saved!

What You Do With 'Happy Holidays'

Absurdity #32 - Family Trees or Christmas Trees????

Lowe's spokesman Chris Ahearn: "Let me reiterate my apology that we had an advertising error that created a stir."

He said the corporation's formal response was that the nationwide chain "is proudly committed to selling Christmas trees this year, as it has done for more than 60 years."

The company said the posting of an ad for "family" trees" was an error in publication that "was not caught before the publication was distributed."

"Lowe's … is disappointed in the breakdown in the proofing process," the company said.

The company recommitted to referring to Christmas trees as Christmas trees in television and magazine ads as well as advertising flyers.

How 'lowe' can you go? It must be December again and people don't know how to handle a Savior born into the world!