Family Night Recap!

Last night is one of my favorite nights of the month at Family Church-Family Night! I had spent ALL day Friday and ALL day Saturday working some young boys hard in the woods preping for deer season! It has been a crazy last two weeks so I couldn't wait for some good quality time with my girls!

First, we went to Kiroli Park to slide slides, swing, play some girly softball (yes, Gracen has a pink ball and bat that Jennifer Rhea bought her), and some trail walking. I ran into an old friend and even some of our youth playing some football in the middle field at Kiroli Park as well. Next, we headed off to Dillas for some good steak burritos then topped it off with some icecream from the creamery! We had good intentions to go home and watch a movie with Gracen (had to put Addelyn down for the night) but we ended up spending time talking, praying, and worshipping God together as a family. Last, we let Gracen pile up with us in bed (we let her sleep in our room on Family Nights-she has been counting down the days) to read some books then get some shut eye!

Thank you God for allowing us to make memories as a family! Help us Lord in our fight to raise sons and daughters who walk with you!

What I want to pass on to my daughters

I felt compelled by the Holy Spirit to shut my self in my office today after lunch to spend the afternoon with him up until Family Night. I love it when there is a special urging in my heart to be with him because I know there is something(s) he wants to share with me.

It is amazing the things God teaches us through different "life stages." Being a parent now there is so many things God has been teaching me through parenting. I guess so since he is the perfect Father. It seems that I get a little bit clearer picture of the great responsibility that he has given us as parents to raise sons and daughters who will walk with God. My wife and I have but a short time to pour into our children before they "leave our nest." I pray and ask God to reveal to my my daughters strengths and weaknesses so that I may pray more specifically for them. It is awesome to be able to see the fruit of the precious time Jodi spends with my girls. The countless hours of teaching and training them. Then to see them begin to duplicate what they've learned. She has and is doing such a great job as a mom taking care of the family. During some of my time I had with the Lord today I wrote down several things I would like to pass on to my daughters. I will share a few with you:

1) To live a life of dedication and worship to God. I want them to realize that serving God isn't just a "set time" each today. But serving God is a 24/7, all day every day relationship. One that consumes us!

2) To live a life of prayer. It is cute to see Gracen pray for her food, or before bed, or for her baby dolls ,but I pray there comes a day where there is a burning fire in her heart to seek the father through prayer. To learn to go to her knees and fight when the enemy is prowling. To believe and understand the power of prayer.

3) To live by God's word. I pray they have a hunger to feast upon the word of God and hide it in thier hearts. I pray they realize his way is the only way to life. I pray they live by God's principles and standards regardless of the cost.

4) I pray they love family. I pray they will love the family in which they were raised and give their lives to the ones they will become apart of. I pray they will care for thier husbands, children, and homes.

5) I pray they will have a heart to give and to serve. I pray they will give self-lessly and serve others and family as they are serving Christ.

6) I pray they are quick to forgive. We will always be given the opportunity to become offended and unforgiving. Life is to short to live it in unforgiveness and eternity is too long to live with its consequences.

7) Courage. I pray they have the courage to stay the course even when the course goes against the popular tides of the world.I pray they stay true to thier calling that God has on thier lives.

So how will I pass these things on to my girls?

1) I pray God will empower me to live these examples in front of them.

2) I pray for God's wisdom for me to teach them.

Thank you God for giving me the wonderful responsibility to pass the faith on to the next generation.

Back to School Bash with Big Al Recap!

The house was packed last night with 173 crazy students and youth workers celebrating the "Back to School Bash" with Big Al! We cranked up the night with Flo Worster and Jennifer Rhea giving away tons of awesome door prizes! I shared some scriptures from God's word with the students challenging them to rise up and live a passionate life for God! Big Al then came out and ministered to the students the rest of the night. We ended by having all the youth workers come out and pray a blessing over the students for the new school year! A big thanks to Mrs. Elaine Fox for taking some GREAT pics of the night!

"Moving on Up"

We had our annual "Moving on Up" Parent/Student Orientation Saturday evening at 6 PM. This is held every year for families who have kids that are moving up into our Junior High Ministry. They were greeted at the door by our 7th Grade Girls small group. After families signed in and recieved some information they enjoyed a nice catered supper in the Cafe' X. After supper we had all the families come into the E3 Room where they were able to experience a Wednesday Night atmosphere in student ministry. After I introduced our Junior High small group leaders we gave away door prizes, split up in groups, and played an interactive game. Then came business. We discussed with the families the transition and changes Junior High students go through. We talked about the student ministry's place, our mission, and what to expect. I was very pleased with the participation and turnout we had.

This is going to be a great year!

My "Messy List"

For the past few weeks we have been on a series entitled, "One Month to Live". Each week we've had a different speaker give a different message on the subject. Two Sunday's ago Arvil Ogle spoke and challenged us to make a "Messy List" of our lives. This is to help us spend more time examining OUR lives instead of spending so much time trying to CRITIQUE others lives.

"And why worry about a speck in your friend's eye when you have a log in your own? How can you think of saying to your friend, 'Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,' when you can't see past the log in your own eye? Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend's eye." (Matthew 7:3-5)

If you will read what Jesus said in the above passage he doesn't tell us not to deal with other people's "specks" at all. But what he does say is for us FIRST get the log out of our own eyes so THEN we can see well enough to deal with the speck in our friend's eye.

Occasionally, I will ask Jodi (because she knows me best and I trust her more than any other human being) to honestly evaluate my life and give me two things that she can see are my "weaknesses". Sometimes I come out feeling pretty good about myself. But God is the one who truly knows my heart and sometimes I can know the evil lurking in my own heart.

I made my "Messy List" today and tried to do an honest evaluation of my life. I will share a few with you:

1) I tend to be impatient at times. (Patience is a fruit of the spirit and is a must if I want to move forward towards full devotion. I've heard and experienced the difficulty of praying for "patience" in your life.)

2) I can be irritable at times. (Sure, I can blame it on lack of sleep but the Bible tells us the love "is not irritable."

3) I tend to get in a funk when things happen that are either out of my control totally or I can't seem to get control over something I think I need to be in control of. (I need to remind myself that God is in control! Period.

4) I tend to be a "fixer" and when I can't "fix" something or "fix" somebody or "fix" a situation I can get bent out of shape. (This goes back to that control thing.)

5) I tend to be hardest on those closest to me. (I need to learn to shell out the mercy and grace to others that I so desperately need myself. Please forgive to those people that I have been hard on-I'm sorry).

6) I tend to be hardest on myself. (I've always tended to "beat myself up" when either I mess up or don't do the job I think I should have or could have done. I take a lot off of the enemy's hands when I do this. I need to realize there is no condemnation for those in Christ and that where I fall short God's grace is sufficient!)

Boy, my life sure would be a mess without Christ working in me. Thank you Lord for your mercy and grace.

Family Church Back to School Fall Fashion Show Brunch

School begins this Friday and F.C. celebrated that with a ladies "Back to School Fall Fashion Show Brunch" in the E3 Student Ministry Room. About 110 ladies were apart of the event this past Saturday morning. Mothers, youth, and youth workers modeled off the modest fall apparrel from Kara's Store who sponsored clothing for the show. I am so proud of my wife Jodi for the great job leading this event along with the many other ladies that made it happen! It was a long 4 weeks of hard work and planning. Sarah Niswanger walked with her each step of the way and her father Robert was a huge blessing in his decor skills and planning. A huge thanks to all the models who gave of thier time to be apart. Terry Dick and Tonya Lewis worked so very hard preparing the brunch for that morning. Elaine Fox gave of her time taking pics for the entire event. Phillip Brooks, Alex Potor, and Josh Williams made sure the technical and lighting aspects were covered. Jenny and Olivia Remsberg along with Victoria Worley sang.And last but not least, Dr. Joneal Kirby (A.K.A. Dr. Mom) knocked it out of the park speaking on the subject of mothers "Leaving a Legacy."
You know some people may ask, "Where was the spiritual significance in this?" If Dr. Kirby's message didn't "light your fire" then your wood may be wet? To me, community and building God honoring relationships is never a waste! The girls had a blast!

"So what did you do in all of this Beck?" Well, since I've never been accused of having style I obviously didn't help much with this deal. Nope, I got to babysit my two daughters at home for two whole days! Boy, Am I glad momma is back!

Persistence in Prayer

Living out in the country I have always wanted two white rocking chairs to sit on my front porch. I know this sounds more like the desire of a 60 year old man rather than a 30 year old man but that's just me. I finally went and purchased two nice white rockers that I took home to try and assemble. After several hours of failure, cutting myself a few times, almost cussing once, and not being able to get the holes and arm rests to match up, I broke down and paid the store $10.00 to do it themselves!

How many times have we gone to God in prayer about something, not gotten an imediate answer, thrown in the towel, and just given up? One lesson I learned while in sales was persistence pays off!

One of my favorite presidents is Abraham Lincoln. Take a look of a common list of the failures (along with a few successes) of "Honest Abe."

1831 - Lost his job
1832 - Defeated in run for Illinois State Legislature
1833 - Failed in business
1834 - Elected to Illinois State Legislature (success)
1835 - Sweetheart died
1836 - Had nervous breakdown
1838 - Defeated in run for Illinois House Speaker
1843 - Defeated in run for nomination for U.S. Congress
1846 - Elected to Congress (success)
1848 - Lost re-nomination
1849 - Rejected for land officer position
1854 - Defeated in run for U.S. Senate
1856 - Defeated in run for nomination for Vice President
1858 - Again defeated in run for U.S. Senate
1860 - Elected President (success)

It also has been said that Thomas Edison when trying to invent the light bulb failed over 1,000 before he got it!

What if he would have quit at 999? What if Abraham Lincoln would have given up early on in life?

So many times we are knocking at the door of heaven for a great need in our lives and we give up when the answer is just right around the corner!


Jesus had a few things to say about persistence when it comes to our prayer life.

"Then, teaching them more about prayer, he used this story: "Suppose you went to a friend's house at midnight, wanting to borrow three loaves of bread. You say to him, 'A friend of mine has just arrived for a visit, and I have nothing for him to eat.' And suppose he calls out from his bedroom, 'Don't bother me. The door is locked for the night, and my family and I are all in bed. I can't help you.' But I tell you this-though he won't do it for friendship's sake, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you whatever you need because of your shameless persistence. "And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened." (Luke 11:5-10)

Or what about the Parable of the Persisten Widow in Luke 18?

"One day Jesus told his disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up. "There was a judge in a certain city," he said, "who neither feared God nor cared about people. A widow of that city came to him repeatedly, saying, 'Give me justice in this dispute with my enemy.' The judge ignored her for a while, but finally he said to himself, 'I don't fear God or care about people, but this woman is driving me crazy. I'm going to see that she gets justice, because she is wearing me out with her constant requests!" (Luke 18:1-5)

I don't know what situation you find yourself in today. Maybe you desperately need God to move in your life. Maybe there is a sick family member that needs a miracle! Maybe you have lost your job during this tough economic time. Maybe your son or daughter has strayed from the faith and you are believing God to draw him or her back.

I pray the words of Jesus would encourage you to fight, believe, and never give up while praying!

The Discipline of our Heavenly Father

I love being a dad. It comes with such joy yet so much responsibility. I understand that God has entrusted Jodi and I with the care and upbringing of our children. He gave them to us to produce children who will grow up to know, love, and serve God. I understand for my wife and I to fail in that area is a serious thing. “Didn’t the Lord make you one with your wife? In body and spirit you are his. And what does he want? Godly children form your union.” (Malachi 2:15) Regardless of what many people think, children don’t come out of the womb “little angels”. Although they are cute and cudly they are born with a sin nature. To fail in training them to obey us as parents and disciplining them when they don’t, we as parents allow that sin nature to dominate them. If they can’t learn to obey their earthly parents how will they learn to obey their Heavenly Father? They can’t and won’t. Wow-big responsibility here but I’m up for the challenge! I believe my wife and I are transitional in our family and our girls will grow up to see a biblically functioning family. All of this I realize can only happen with God’s help, grace, mercy, and power in our lives. Without it we will fail miserably! We are very new at this. My oldest daughter just turned three and our youngest is only four months. However, we are striving with everything within us to do our very best. With God’s word directing us, others mentoring us, and friends who are striving for the same goals I believe it we can see this generation grow up to love the Lord.

So where does discipline come into play? Discipline is a word that isn’t very popular anymore in our society. What is discipline? Discipline is:

1. training to act in accordance with rules
2. activity, exercise, or a regimen that develops or improves a skill; training
3. punishment inflicted by way of correction and training.

Read some of these powerful scriptures from God’s word on training and disciplining:

“Direct (or train up) your children onto the right path (or the way they should go), and when they are older, they will not leave it (depart from it).” (Proverbs 22:6)

They won’t know what to follow or obey unless they are trained to do so.

“Those who spare the rod of discipline hate their children. Those who love their children care enough to discipline them.” (Proverbs 13:24)

Man! The word of God says that if we do not discipline our children we actually hate them! Not spanking our kids doesn’t make us good parents-it makes us bad parents.

“Discipline your children while there is hope. Otherwise you will ruin their lives.” (Proverbs 19:18)

We have a window of opportunity when our kids are young! Their little character is being formed! A little child will soon be an adult. We understand that while our kids are young there is still hope for them! The word of God says we ruin their lives when we fail to discipline them.

“A youngster’s heart is filled with foolishness, but physical discipline with drive it far away.” (Proverbs 22:15)

The word of God even tells us that a young person’s heart is filled with foolishness but not just discipline-but physical discipline with drive it away.

“Don’t fail to discipline your children. They won’t die if you spank them. Phycial discipline may well save them from death.” (Proverbs 23:13-14)

Again, the word of God tells us that physical discipline may save their lives!

“Discipline your children and they will give you peace of mind and will make your heart glad.” (Proverbs 29:17)

Now let me try and bring this all together. If the word of God is very clear for us as earthly parents to discipline our children don’t you think our Heavenly Father will discipline his? (Christians). When we are disobedient will we escape the discipline of our Father? I can assure you although we as earthly parents may “hit and miss” sometimes in our discipline God NEVER does! You can be sure that every act of disobedience will be disciplined.

Read these powerful passages below:

“And have you forgotten the encouraging words God spoke to you as his children? He said, “My child, don’t make light of the Lord’s discipline, and don’t give up when he corrects you. For the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes each one he accepts as his child.” As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as his own children. Who ever heard of a child who is never disciplined by its father? If God doesn’t discipline you as he does all of his children, it means that you are illegitimate and are not really his children at all. Since we respected our earthly fathers who disciplined us, shouldn’t we submit even more to the discipline of the Father of our spirits, and live forever? For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God’s discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in his holiness. No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening-it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.” (Hebrews 12:5-11)

“I am not sorry that I sent that severe letter to you, though I was sorry at first, for I know it was painful to you for a little while. Now I am glad I sent it, not because it hurt you, but because the pain caused you to repent and change your ways. It was the kind of sorrow God wants his people to have, so you were not harmed by us in any way. For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death.” (II. Corinthians 7:8-10)

I had to discipline Gracen for something this morning. Most of the time when I get through spanking her, speaking to her, then praying with her she immediately wants to climb in my arms and hug me. This makes my heart glad. To see my daughter say, “I sorry Daddy” then turns from her mistakes makes my heart glad. Why? Because Godly sorrow leads to repentance. How much more must it make God’s heart glad when we disobey, Him discipline us, then we turn to Him in Godly sorrow.

So my question this morning is “How do we respond to God’s discipline?”

"A Call to Fall"

This past weekend was the "4th of July" which is a day to celebrate our countries independence as a nation. During yesterday morning's service we expressed our dependence on God and had a "Call to Fall". Family Church along with 28,000 other people and churches fell to thier knees in humility and repentence. We also petitionted God for forgiveness and to heal our land.

To lead us in this special service was our very own student ministry worship team. Scotti and Victoria did a wonderful job in putting together yesterday's worship set. You can go to Arvil Ogle's blog to view pictures of yesterday's worship service.

http://www.worshipleadership.typepad.com/

Birthday and Family Night

There is nothing quite like an "All American Girl" Birthday Party to kick off your Saturday! My oldest daughter Gracen, turned 3 years old this past Saturday. My wife Jodi, had it looking like "Uncle Sam" lived at 172 Rayner Road. There was red, white, and blue all over the place! We did a little grilling, had a giant water slide, ate some melon, birthday cake, and oh yea-sweated it up in the 100% heat! Nothign like a Louisiana summer! I love my daughter and enjoyed celebrating her 3rd B-day with family and friends!

Sunday afternoon we had both sides of the family come over for a little Family Night! The last Sunday of each month is Family Night here at Family Church! We did some more grilling, eating, volleyballing, and again-sweated it out in the LA heat!

I love spending time with those closest to me! Thank you God for the family unit and what you desire for it to be!

Beck

Servolution in the bag!

It is hard to believe another summer retreat has come and gone. But before we put it in the books, we have a recap service this Wed Night in the sanctuary at 7 PM. Come for some worship, hear testimonies, videos, and pictures of the trip!

Family Night!

The last Sunday of each month is Family Night. We are encouraged to invest in the most important small group we will ever be apart of-our family. My passion for family and parenting continues to grow each and everyday. What an exciting journey we are own in striving to build a family that functions the way God desires it to function. It certainly isn't always easy but I am thankful for the power of the Holy Spirit, God's word, and the great examples that God has placed in our lives to teach us.

Now I am certainly much more passionate about deer hunting than fishing but yesterday afternoon I took my oldest daughter Gracen bream fishing. In a matter of time we had a stringer full of fish (fun to catch but no fun to clean). We had a blast together! I bought Gracen a really cool pink princess fishing rod! The goal wasn't the catching of fish itself but quality time with my daughter. We had a great time but the conclusion could very well be: My daughter may be a bit on the girly side! Flopping fish tended to freak her out! Maybe Addelyn will be my fishing buddy???

After our fishing trip we went to "pop's house" and had supper with some family. Nothing like some good ole garden food! Squash, Black Eyed-Peas, Turnip Greens, Onions, etc! Hit the spot! We than topped it off with vanilla icecream and mulberry cobbler! yes, i said it-mulberry cobbler from our mulberry tree in the yard. I know, somebody say "kuntry".
What a great family night!

We are getting geared up and ready as there are only 12 Days left until this year's
E3 Student Ministry Summer Retreat-"Servolution". We have 86 of us that will head down to Healing Place Church of Baton Rouge, Louisiana to get our "serve on". Pray for our team of youth and youth workers as we prepare over the next two weeks!

When God's Plan Doesn't Make Sense

I had the honor of sharing during this past Sunday morning service with a message entitled "When God's Plan Doesn't Make Sense". You can view it at www.familychurch.org

Sulphur, Louisiana

Took the wife and two kids down to the LHSAA Girls Softball State Tournament in Sulphur, Louisiana. C.C.S. took the first game today with a 5-2 victory of Georgetown. It looked bleak for C.C.S. until the last inning when they tied the game up after trailing 2-1. The took it into extra innings finally pulling away with tht "V". Tomorrow they will play at 11 A.M. and hopefully take it to the championship game at 5 PM.

The family and had a great supper at Chilis Restaurant tonight, took Gracen swimming, and now chilling out at the Baymont Inn. Memories, Memories!

St. Judes

I along with four of our seniors from the student ministry left at 7 am this morning to head for Memphis, Tennessee. Our first stop was St. Jude's Research Hospital for a 1 PM tour. My heart was touched to the core to see so many young people suffering from a such a deadly disease as cancer. I was absolutely blown away at how awesome St. Jude's Hospital is! They turn no child away and pay for any patient that can't afford care. It cost 1.3 million dollars a day to run the hospital!

We then took it to Beale Street to tour some places and then ate some supper at BB King's Restaurant. I met up with an old time friend who blessed us all by paying for our meals!

The fun wasn't over yet as we then took it to Family Golf and Game Park. We hit golf balls, hit in the batting cages, and topped it off by racing golf carts. Let me just say I have a headache and my stomach hurts after laughing so hard. We had so much fun. So now we are kicking it at the hotal and getting ready to get up in the morning and head to Graceland before we head back to West Monroe.

Easter Sunday!

I'd like to take this time to invite you and your family to Easter Sunday at Family Church this Sunday April 12th @ 10 AM!

Come hear life-changing teaching ane experience dynamic worship!

See you there!

Sound the Alarm

“Once again a message came to me from this Lord: “Son of man, give your people this message: ‘When I bring an army against a country, the people of that land choose one of their own to be a watchman. When the watchman sees the enemy coming, he sounds the alarm to warn the people. Then if those who hear the alarm refuse to take action, it is their own fault if they die. They heard the alarm but ignored it, so the responsibility is theirs. If they had listened to the warning, they could have saved their lives. But if the watchman sees the enemy coming and doesn’t sound the alarm to warn the people, he is responsible for their captivity. They will die in their sins, but I will hold the watchman responsible for their deaths.” (Ezekiel 33:1-6)

For the first 18 years of my life there was something very important missing-spiritual truth. That lack of spiritual truth or revelation of it was like a rope holding me over the fires of hell. Nobody had the guts to share with me the whole counsel of God’s truth and the church my family was attending preached a message that left me secure in my sins. Truth is important because it is the only thing that can set us free. When I did come to a knowledge of God’s truth and was set free from my sins I vowed to God that I would do my best to always share the whole truth of His Word. Sometimes people run from the truth and sometimes they ignore it. The Bible says Jesus was full of “grace and truth”. We can’t give people grace alone because the gospel becomes watered down and we can’t give them truth alone because we can kill them with it or become legalistic. There must be grace and truth.

What kind of father would I be if I saw danger or evil coming to my daughters and yet didn’t warn them? What good would I be if I saw a rapist or murderer coming for my wife and didn’t fight him off? What good would I be if I saw a wolf coming for the sheep (students) in our fold (at Family Church) and yet didn’t warn them? What about the sheep entrusted in your fold? Satan, our enemy, has unleashed a hoard of demons against family and our young people and there is an attack. The alarm has been sounded but will people listen? The alarm has been set off but will the young people arise? The trumpet has been blown so will we as parents rise up and fight the enemy of our kids souls?

Whose blood will be on our hands? If we don’t blow the alarm, sadly it falls on ours. If we blow the alarm, share the truth, and give the warning, it could very well save their lives.

Have a great week!

Beck

"Instead give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life." (Romans 6:13b)

I woke up this morning at 4 A.M. a little anxious and ready to get the day going. I spent time with Jesus and allowed the Holy Spirit to speak to me the message to give our teenagers tonight. Man, life is so different with Jesus! I remember the day it was hard to get out of the bed at 7:30 let alone earlier. When Christ is leading the way the lense in which you view life from is so very different. Today, I am a husband, father, and a minister. I am truly blessed to be able to go out tonight and share Christ to those who need Him.

Thank you Jesus for new life!

Through them...

“And the disciples went everywhere and preached, and the Lord worked through them, confirming what they said by many miraculous signs.” (Mark 16:20)

Notice in the above scripture that it says, “the Lord worked through them.” Who was it the Lord worked through? His disciples! His followers! Believers! Us, Christians! I’ve heard the excuse so many times of, “Well, I guess if God wants to do this or that for so and so He’ll do it.” Well, its true God can do whatever however but He wants to use US-His disciples!

What is it today that God wants to use you to do? How does He want to work through you? What kind of vessel are you? A vessel of love? A vessel of encouragment? Yield today to the Holy Spirit and allow Him to work through you!