Chillin with the Roses

Bryan, Kelly and Macy Jane have been visiting with us for the last few days. Bryan and Kelly are some of our best friends in the world. I will have to say that the time with them was a much need vacation for me as I know it was for them. It reminded me of the importance of down time and hanging out with good friends. What did we do while they were here? Glad you asked.

• We walked around Coconut Point Mall in Estero.
• We ate Pizza from Uno's.
• We hung out at the pool.
• We played with Macy Jane (their 3 years old).
• We talked.
• We watched Planet Earth (Kelly couldn't believe the difference HD makes!)
• We had breakfast with the Millers (Tamar cooked 4 different types of pancakes!).
• We drank Starbucks together.
• We talked.
• We caught up on life.

I miss having Bryan and Kelly in my life all the time. Macy and I were both sad last night as we came home from church and they were no longer there. Friends are an such an awesome blessing from God. Treasure your friends. They are truly God's best blessings!

God Is Good!

I know we often say "God is good," but do we really slow down enough and consider just how good He really is? I have so many reasons today to say God is good:

• I got to spend this past weekend with my mom and dad in town.
• Some of my best friends in the whole world are getting in town later today to spend a long weekend with us.
• Macy and I had a chance to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with some friends of our last night that do not yet know Christ.
• I get to serve and minister at the greatest church in the world.
• I get to co-host a podcast with David Miller (this alone would be enough blessing).
• I'm married to the greatest, most understanding woman in the world - Macy!!!

Is my life all good? Of course not. I'm facing some very real challenges right now, just like many of you are. But through it all, I can honestly say God is so very good!

How have you seen the goodness of God lately in your life?

Best Hamburger

My mom and dad are in town visiting this weekend and we took them to lunch today at Cheeseburger in Paradise, a new restaurant that just opened up this week in Ft Myers. It is located on the corner of Daniels and 41 and is the same building as another new restaurant, Lee Roy Selmon's. I ordered the Burger of the Day which was called the Bleu Cheese Blitz. It was AWESOME! Was one of the best burgers I have ever had. They have about 8 different burgers to order from (as well as lots of other things). The quality of the food was very good. Service was also very good. A little pricey when you consider your ordering a hamburger, but I felt like I got a good value. They also have these thinly slice sweet potato chips that were outrageous. If you are in the mood for a burger, I highly recommend Cheeseburger in Paradise.

Moto Q

Having used the Motorola Q now for over 2 months, I wanted to give my own impressions of this smart phone. My first smart phone was Sprint's PPC-6700. At first I thought it was cool to be able to handle so many functions normally handled by your laptop on your phone. But after the initial cool factor wore off, I found myself frustrated most of the time, especially when simply wanting to make calls.

Then I got hold of the Motorola Q by Sprint. I really like this phone. It acts more like a phone, but still has much of the 6700 functionality. It checks emails, surfs the web over Sprint's high speed EVDO, and let's me keep my calendar and contacts all within a few thumb clicks away. The screen on this phone is crisp and bright and I love the size of it, very small for a smart phone. In a land where Treos reign supreme, the Moto Q is an excellent alternative.

Quick Trip & Lots of Learning

Myself and a couple other McGregor Staffer made a quick to Texas this week. Our purpose: to meet with a couple of staff guys at a MEGA church outside of Dallas and learn from them. I love the idea of visiting with other church pastors and learning from what they are doing. We met together for a little over 3 hours and in that short period of time we were able to come back full of possible ideas on how we can make our ministry more effective here at McGregor. Awesome trip, but I am glad to be home!

Do I Seem Like A Cat Person?

I was talking with someone recently and mentioned my cat had been sick. The look on their face was not one of concern for my cat, but one of "You have a cat!" Now, they didn't exactly say that, but that's what they were thinking. I can tell. So I asked them, "do I look like someone who has a cat?" They said "no, I would have never guessed you were a cat owner."

I wonder, what does a cat person look like. I know cat owners have a bad rap, and some of it is deserved. I watched a Cat Show on TV the other night with Macy and some of those owners they interviewed were nuts. We're not nuts, just relatively normal people who happen to own a cat. What do you think a cat person looks like?

My First 5K Race

I finally did it! I ran in my first 5K. Since starting to run back around the first of the year, I have had it in the back of my head that I wanted to run 5Ks. Through some encouragement from several friends, I finally did it. I ran in the "Do the Right Thing" race in Gateway this past Saturday. My time was right around 28 minutes, which I thought was pretty good. The reason I don't know my exact time is I started way back in the pack. The time on my watch was under 28 minutes, but I'm not sure if I started it exactly as I crossed the start line. So, we'll just say 28 even. The race itself went by fast and I had no trouble completing the 3.1 miles even though I was running at a faster pace than I have been training. I guess it was the adrenaline from running in a race! I'm actually looking forward to the my next 5K.

Easter 2007

The day started early, but all six services were over before I knew it. What an awesome time we had at McGregor today celebrating Easter! I love being a part of a church that loves celebrating and loves serving. It was awesome to see hundreds of volunteers doing there thing and making the day an awesome experience for everyone who came on our campus. Special thanks to our Preschool Team of Volunteers that I got to see in action! Way to go to team.