Getting Ready for Tonight

I'm taking a short break as I make some final preparation for speaking tonight at our midweek FOCUS service. I love teaching and am looking for to sharing with others what God is teaching me from my study in the Book of James. My big idea for my talk is "my greatest blessings may be in my biggest trials." God's gifts are perfect and generous and customized just for me. But it might not be what I expect. Better stop now, or I'll start dumping the whole thing out here.

Be praying for my senior pastor, he had surgery on both of his knees on Monday.


If you live in the Fort Myers area, it's not too late to register and be a part of McGregor's Parenting Conference - Flip this Family. It starts Friday night at 7:00pm and is going to be a tremendous resource and opportunity for anyone who is a parent. Click on the link below to register.

It Finally Happened

After dinner this evening I walked out to get the day's mail. And as I was going through the mail while walking back I saw "it." In red letters printed on the front of the envelope - Jury Summons. And right below it, my name. Believe it or not, I have never been summoned for jury duty. Not anymore. I'm now looking forward to fulfilling my civic duty.

Small Is Nice

I have been watching very carefully the evolution of the low-cost, ultraportable laptop computer market. It was the Asus Eee PC that, around 6 months ago, basically created this new low-cost category. Previously, an ultraportable laptop computer meant tons of money. Not anymore.

Consider the Eee PC. For $500 or less, depending on configuration, you get a 2 pound laptop with a 7 inch screen, a small Solid State Disk with a Linux based operating system. This started the revolution. Now there are 3 other competitors in this growing niche market, with about 5 or 6 other models readying for release later this year. Click here to check out a comprehensive list of what's available now and what's coming out later.

Small and cheap really is nice.

They're Back

Last year CompUSA closed all of their stores nationwide. Systemax (owners of Tiger Direct) came in and picked up the pieces and bought what was left of CompUSA. Now, Systemax is reopening 15 of the old CompUSA stores, one of which is located right here in Ft Myers. So for those of you who have missed having a CompUSA store here in town, it's back.

CompUSA Fort Myers

Another Stroll Down Memory Lane

Macy, my wife, decided to organize some drawers in our guest bedroom today. At least that is what she told me when I got home from work. So, this meant her going through everything in the drawers, piece by piece, and reliving the memories associated with each item. Quite a long process. And, it's actually kind of fun to watch her do this. She is so sentimental.

So, throughout the evening, she would bring photos and other items for me to look at. She would briefly tell the story associated with each item and photo, enjoying the memories it created in her mind. Most of these photos I have seen before, but again, it's a joy to watch her enjoy this process.

Later that evening I heard her exclaim, "I found it!" She had found what she had been looking for earlier in the day that actually started this whole "organizational" project. She had gotten distracted with all the stuff, that she had forgot why she started "digging" in the first place. (I know there's got to be some good illustration stuff there.)

Good news: In all her digging yesterday, Macy uncovered a $25 Savings Bond. I looked it up and discovered it is now worth $215! Yeah Macy!

A New Way to Read

I finished a novel this morning...on the way to work. No, I'm not like those crazies you see reading while driving. I've recently discovered the audiobook. Specifically...audible.com.

I downloaded Ted Dekker's Three before we left for Israel. It's a 12 hour read, I mean, listen. I finally finished it this morning. Great book. And a great way to utilize those commuting moments for something other than fostering road rage.

The process is pretty simple. Go to audible.com and check out their selection of over 40,000 books, magazines, podcasts and newspapers. Make your selection and purchase the book (there are subscription plans available also) you want. Then download it to your computer. You can listen on your computer, transfer it to your iPod or other MP3 device. Or burn it on to a CD and listen from any CD player. Give it a try.

Oh, Three is a great read. I don't read much fiction, but this was really good. And very suspenseful.

Gratitude

I am so blessed. But how often do I show my appreciation? I never want to take anything for granted, but unfortunately, I often do. I want to take a moment and acknowledge just a few of things I am grateful for...

• My incredible wife Macy (who recently made the huge sacrifice to go to Israel with me)
• Our home (not so much the house, but the home we have made - I love just hanging out here)
• My church (I love the people of God at McGregor and being a part of their lives)
• HD TV (I know I've probably mentioned this before, but still very grateful)
• My friends (I am blessed in so many ways with awesome friends who love me for me)
• My Espresso Machine (my daily cappuccinos make like a little smoother)
• My Car (a 12 year old Toyota Avalon that just keeps on going and going)
• My Parents (who helped shape my life and my faith)
• Technology (partially for making life easier, but mostly for making life more fun)
• Swiffer Max (amazing invention that helps me keep our wood floors relatively dust free)
• My Sunday morning Bible Study Class (I love the peeps in our class and their hunger for growing in their faith)
• A/C (Southwest Florida without air conditioning...can't even imagine)
  

What are you grateful for today?

Some New Music

I personally love a lot of different styles of music. Case in point is my relatively recent new appreciation for country music. I now have Martina, Carrie, Rascal, Sugarland, etc... all on my iPod. But I wanted you to give a listen to Alan Powell's (my senior pastor's son) debut single that he just released last month. It's not country or any where close to country. But it is really good. Read Alan's comments below about his latest opportunity and then take a listen. It's an awesome song!

As of today March 31st after only a week of putting out my first single I have already been blessed with the opportunity to be featured as an unsigned artist on a major radio stations website! The radio station is 104.3MYfm Los Angeles, Ca. I’m featured on the NEW! section which exposes my music to more than 10 MILLION PEOPLE PER MONTH on nearly 500 radio station web sites across the country! Spread the word and help me rise to the top of the NEW! charts! Artists with the most plays get special homepage placement and are considered first to have their songs played on air! Just click the link below to play my song! God bless. Alan

Click here to listen to Alan's latest song

So, how was the trip?

I've had the joy to share with lots of people about my trip to Israel over the last few days. I've found it difficult to convey my feelings and the experiences I had in words. I usually just end up saying it was awesome and it exceeded my expectations.

I spent several hours this weekend going through photos I took on the trip. I was the official "photographer" and wanted to make sure we visually documented as much as possible. I shot about 2,000 photos and have narrowed it down to around 1,500.

It's been nice to get home and get back in a normal groove. It was nice to run again. I took my stuff in case I had a chance to run on the trip, but when I had the time I was too tired. Glad to be back running.

Along with getting caught up on our sleep, Macy and I also got caught up on American Idol and Dancing with the Stars episodes.

The picture is of me and Macy standing in front of the Med Sea.

Tired, Overwhelmed, and Glad to Be Home

I apologize for not blogging anything the last few days, but I had a lot of difficulty getting online in Jerusalem. So, I will try to condense our last few days in Jerusalem into this post. Oh...we made it home safe and sound today.

Monday's Highlights

• Visited the Temple Mount area (area where the Temple complex once stood, Dome of the Rock, Gate Beautiful). This was a pretty impressive area, just makes you mad what's there now.
  
• Pool of Bethesda - Helped the story that took place here come alive.
  
• Walked down the Via Dolorosa - very small crowded road lined with little shops and vendors.
  
• Wailing Wall - Jews cannot pray on the Temple Mount so this is as close as they can get to where the Temple use to be. Nothing magical about the wall, it's about proximity for them.
  
• Garden Tomb - incredibly moving time here.
  

Tuesday (I took today off from taking pictures. I was burnt out - over 2,000!)

• Holocaust Museum
• Valley where David defeated Goliath
• Saw an underground Olive Oil Press from the 3rd century BC! Being a lover of fine olive oil this was pretty amazing for me.

The trip home was a long one. We started Tuesday morning pretty much as usual with sightseeing. We finished up around 5:30pm and headed for dinner. From dinner we went to the airport for our 11:50pm flight from Tel Aviv to New Jersey. Then from New Jersey we arrived in Fort Myers at 9:45am Wednesday morning (which seemed like 4:45pm Wednesday to us!) Wow. A very long 36 hours of sight-seeing and traveling.

But it's good to be home and in our own house. The trip to Israel exceeded our expectation and is an experience I will cherish forever. I will probably write more about my reflections on the trip later. Too tired and still processing.

Click here for pictures. Most recent are at the bottom.

The Journey Keeps Getting Better

"Is it just me, but are all the ruins starting to look alike?"

I asked this question today as we we were looking at ruins from a 5th century monastery located at Qumram. Very fascinating site, but ancient ruins are all starting to run together. Have I mentioned how incredible our guide is. Today while at Qumram, we ran into one of our guide's professors there. He said he was one of the archeologist's that participated in this archaeological project and actually found some of the scroll fragments. Pretty cool.

Here's a run down of the last two days, as best I can remember.

Saturday

• Mount of Olives
• Donkey rides (I passed on this and took lots of pics)
  
• Garden of Gethsemane
• Caiaphas' House
• Dungeon Cave (below Caiaphas' house where Jesus may have been)
  
• Dead Sea's Scroll Museum (incredible model of Jerusalem here)
  

Sunday

• Masada
• Qumram
• Floating in the Dead Sea

We are tired, but having a great time. Macy is doing great. She had us all laughing tonight at dinner when a couple of birds decided to dive into our table. If you know my wife, you can only imagine her reaction. Thanks for your prayers.

Click here for more pictures. Most recent ones will be at the bottom.

We're In Jerusalem

Another great day yesterday. Ruins are all starting to look alike. The highlight was arriving in Jerusalem. Pretty amazing to be here. We start touring Jerusalem today. We start out on the Mount of Olives and the Garden of Gethsemane.

Last night we were able to see an old friend from Mississippi who lives in Tel Aviv. She came over and had dinner with us. It was so cool to see her and spend time with her and to get her perspective on living in Israel.

Macy is doing good and is really taking in all the history. We have the BEST Guide! He is not only incredibly knowledgeable, but he is also a very good communicator. Very passionate about Israel and it's history. He has lived in Israel all of his live. We are very blessed.

Got to go. I will try to post some new pictures here.

Day 3 & 4

Last night, after our first full day of sightseeing, I was exhausted and too tired to even think about blogging. Sorry. I wanted to, but I couldn’t even stay awake. Let me give you a quick recap. Yesterday we spent most of our time along the Mediterranean coast. We started in Tel Aviv and headed up to our first stop, Ceasarea. Lot’s of historical sites here, including Herod's Theater and Herod’s summer palace. Pretty impressive stuff. Next we moved on to Mt Carmel and Megiddo. We spent quite a bit of time at Megiddo. It is a pretty impressive archaeological site.

Macy update on Wednesday: The day started badly with Macy falling that morning in the hotel on the way to breakfast. We have a doctor on the trip and he gave her some pain medication later that afternoon. Unfortunately, she had a allergic reaction to the mediation. Not a good day for Macy.

Today was awesome! Macy was feeling better (knees are sore) and the day started off by boarding a boat from our hotel. Our hotel is located right on the Sea of Galilee. Beautiful location. It was while on the boat, that where we were began to sink in with the group. The Sea of Galilee is beautiful, but the emotional and spiritual impact cannot be described.

Next we headed to Capernaum, and to lunch on the Sea of Galilee. We had St Peter's fish and then headed up to Ceserea Phillipi. We also drove to the Syrian and Lebanon borders. We finished the day on the Mount of Beatitudes overlooking the Sea of Galilee.

Today was really awesome. The thought of being in many of the same places where Jesus walked was actually more overwhelming than I thought it would be. I am so grateful to be here and be a part of this group.

Click here to check out some pics.

We're Here

Our entire group made it safely yo Israel yesterday. It's a long journey. We have only done a little sightseeing so far. This morning we are off for Ceasarea, Mount Carmel, Megiddo and Nazareth. We end up spending the night in Tiberias.

Last night we saw a beautiful sunset over the Mediterranean Sea. We spent a little time in the old city of Joppa, which is just south of Tel Aviv. Our group is great and the anticipation is high! Keep praying for us!



Photo of Old Joppa