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tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24677071968081437022018-09-17T01:21:24.694-05:00Michael B LintonChristianity isn't true because it works; Christianity works because it's true.Michaelhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-2467707196808143702.post-19242743535927914302016-02-14T18:08:00.003-06:002016-02-16T14:55:16.047-06:00An Unexpected Love for Valentine's DayIt's Valentine's Day 2016. Significant others have been flowered, chocolated, and ballooned, all at the behest of florists, chocolatiers, and balloonists. My lovely bride has no real concern for Valentine's Day. Should I get her something, she'll be pleased, but it isn't expected in my home. She prefers the thoughtfulness and surprise of flowers when I've been gone on a trip to the manufactured and planned presentation every February. However, this isn't a post about the uselessness of this made-up holiday, though I believe I could produce one so compelling, you'd never again deign to spend your evenings of February 13th skedaddling from one Walmart to another in search of the last crappy card.

Nor will I Jesus-juke the holiday. Certainly, the only true love is that offered by God in the person of Jesus Christ. Absolutely, the church father for which the non-holiday is named would cringe at the sappy sentimentalism for which his name has been used. But why would I want to steal food from the mouths of Hallmark's president's children? Enjoy your fun, if you see fit to participate.

However, one can't approach this holiday without at least the thought of love crossing one's mind. And the love that crossed my mind is one that truly surprised me, though I don't know why. It's my love for our adopted beauties, the Twinadoes.

J3's adoption was final in July of 2014 and J4's was final in August of 2015, so this is the first Valentine's Day with both of them fully ours. Etta and I regularly look at them, marvel at their beauty, and wonder aloud how we got them. We question whether they could truly be ours and if no one will come to get them to take them to their "real" parents. It's all part of the marvel of adoption, I suppose. We have no true fears of any of this, but it boggles the mind some days that they are actually ours.

Then, in the midst of all that, I'm struck by how much love I have for them. I'm a fairly nice guy, mind you, working on loving people and all that. I also knew coming into this that I would probably love them. What I don't think I was prepared for was how quickly and completely I could love them. I know this isn't the case for all adoptive parents, that some find it more difficult than others, but this has been my experience. And it has blown me away.

I can't imagine life without them, but that's not even the half of it. They are my son and daughter, as surely as J1 and J2 are. Other than a slight difference in skin tone, I don't see any distinction between the four of them. My love is complete, as much as a human father's love can be, and I am floored by it.

The fact is, I loved them before they were ours, and I don't just mean when they were foster children in our home with an uncertain future. I mean before I knew them, I loved them. It was a decision we made when we entered the process - we didn't wait until children had been placed with us. It was a willful decision on our part.

But it was much more than that. This was divinely orchestrated. I don't think I can take too much credit for loving them. This is the calling God placed on our lives and, when he placed the calling, he placed the love. God told us to foster and adopt children, but what we didn't understand is that God told us to foster and adopt 'our' children. That's what we did. That's why we love them so.

They're ours and they always have been. And we can't believe how much we love them.

Michaelhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-2467707196808143702.post-25626717815144997732016-01-26T12:04:00.000-06:002016-01-26T12:04:00.882-06:00Why I Will Not Be Voting for Donald Trump

This is not the most flattering picture of Donald Trump, but it is representative of the image I get when I think of him. This is one of the many reasons I can't vote for Donald Trump.

Let me say that I am angry about the direction of our country. The legalization of gay marriage; the failure and fiasco that is Obamacare; the disdain that President Obama has for our country; the fact that Planned Parenthood is not indicted for selling baby parts, but the man who showed that they were IS indicted; Christian refugees are turned away; and a myriad other issues. However, there is a big difference between allowing that anger to motivate a calculated, Christian response and allowing that anger to motivate an irrational, violent reaction. I'm afraid, given his comments over the past year, we can expect more of the latter, rather than the former, from Mr. Trump.

Here is a man that uses Twitter as a font of venom. Just a quick perusal shows tweets calling people stupid or dumb. He regularly uses such mature tactics as calling people ugly. He often will say something rude or crass (plain-spoken, right?), but then have to backtrack the next day, saying he didn't mean what he said. Megyn Kelley knows about that one. The sort of garbage that has come from him is unbecoming of a human, much less a president.

Then there is his ego. I'm thoroughly convinced that he thinks he should be president simply because he is Donald Trump. Why else would most of campaign promises end with "because I'll make them"? We currently have a president with more ego than ability, and that hasn't worked so well for the country. To run for president, one admittedly has to have an extreme amount of confidence, but even with confidence there can be humility. Trump can't spell humility.

I don't think Trump is good for families: up until a few months ago he supported Planned Parenthood. Suddenly he's very against it, but we have no real proof of that change. I don't think Trump is good for foreign policy. You can't dismiss a fellow world leader because you don't like her looks. Statecraft is about the art of the negotiation, in most instances. You can't just yell "you're fired" when you don't get your way. I don't think Trump is good for the economy. He supports government bailouts and his extremely liberal use of bankruptcies (read: business failures) is a source of great concern. I don't think Trump is good for religious liberty. America cannot turn against an entire religion because some, even many, of that religion use it for evil. If the government can spy on a mosque with no cause, they can spy on a church with no cause. And really, given our government's track-record under Obama, who is seen as more subversive, Christians or Muslims? Regardless, freedom of religion is unalienable, even if that religion says hateful things about others. I don't think Trump is good for immigration. Certainly, something needs to be done, but promising a wall and that Mexico will pay for it isn't a real plan.

And finally there's his complete lack of morals, shown often in his Twitter attacks and campaign promises, but even more glaring in his personal history. No, no person is perfect. Yes, I voted for a Mormon, someone I do not believe will go to heaven because they are a part of an non-Christian cult. But at least he had morals. Trump has been married three times. He owns strip clubs. He says he doesn't need forgiveness, because he's never done anything that bad. (Um, all have sinned and fall short of the glory or God. --Romans 8:28) He's crass. He's rude. He's crude. And I prefer a candidate like what the Southern Baptist Convention resolved we should support: one with moral character. When Bill Clinton was president, we said character mattered. Apparently, many Evangelicals have changed their mind. (I'm looking at you Robert Jeffress and Jerry Falwell, Jr.)

From my perspective, Donald Trump sees Money as god, and Donald Trump is its prophet. We can do much better, Christians. We have to, for our own credibility and the gospel we claim to represent.

**Spoiler alert: should my choice for president be between the Democrat candidate and Donald Trump, I'm very likely to vote third candidate. Because, based on their histories, what's the difference between the two anyway?Michaelhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-2467707196808143702.post-81721846823888141612011-05-23T07:42:00.002-05:002011-05-23T07:44:59.686-05:00A Great Lesson for PastorsOthers May; You Cannot
by George D. Watson

If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. Matthew 16:24-25

If God has called you to be truly like Jesus in all your spirit, He will draw you into a life of crucifixion and humility. He will put on you such demands of obedience that you will not be allowed to follow other Christians. In many ways, He seems to let other good people do things which He will not let you do.

Others who seem to be very religious and useful may push themselves, pull wires, and scheme to carry out their plans, but you cannot. If you attempt it, you will meet with such failure and rebuke from the Lord as to make you sorely penitent.

Others can brag about themselves, their work, their successes, their writings, but the Holy Spirit will not allow you to do any such thing. If you begin to do so, He will lead you into some deep mortification that will make you despise yourself and all your good works.

Others will be allowed to succeed in making great sums of money, or having a legacy left to them, or in having luxuries, but God may supply you only on a day-to-day basis, because He wants you to have something far better than gold, a helpless dependence on Him and His unseen treasury.

The Lord may let others be honored and put forward while keeping you hidden in obscurity because He wants to produce some choice, fragrant fruit for His coming glory, which can only be produced in the shade.

God may let others be great, but keep you small. He will let others do a work for Him and get the credit, but He will make you work and toil without knowing how much you are doing. Then, to make your work still more precious, He will let others get the credit for the work which you have done; this to teach you the message of the Cross, humility, and something of the value of being cloaked with His nature.

The Holy Spirit will put a strict watch on you, and with a jealous love rebuke you for careless words and feelings, or for wasting your time, which other Christians never seem distressed over.

So make up your mind that God is an infinite Sovereign and has a right to do as He pleases with His own, and that He may not explain to you a thousand things which may puzzle your reason in His dealings with you.

God will take you at your word. If you absolutely sell yourself to be His slave, He will wrap you up in a jealous love and let other people say and do many things that you cannot. Settle it forever; you are to deal directly with the Holy Spirit, He is to have the privilege of tying your tongue or chaining your hand or closing your eyes in ways which others are not dealt with. However, know this great secret of the Kingdom: When you are so completely possessed with the Living God that you are, in your secret heart, pleased and delighted over this peculiar, personal, private, jealous guardianship and management of the Holy Spirit over your life, you will have found the vestibule of heaven, the high calling of God.Michaelhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-2467707196808143702.post-8918205247711893962011-05-07T15:58:00.004-05:002011-05-08T08:47:13.727-05:00My sermons online!I'll be adding them as I get them formatted. All of my recorded sermons should be up in about 2 weeks, because I can only upload a certain amount per week.

Go here:
http://vimeo.com/user6989785/albumsMichaelhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-2467707196808143702.post-51569464152290869952011-04-04T23:19:00.006-05:002011-04-19T14:05:00.319-05:00A New Beginning for Us and the End of Hope Fellowship
(This is a repost of what was put on our Hope Fellowship website on April 4th.)

Today I share with you the news that I had hoped to never have to share, but knew that it would always be possible: Hope Fellowship came to an end yesterday, one day short of the 1 year anniversary of our first preview service. This was a mutually agreed upon decision by our leadership team. It was an incredibly hard decision for me to make, but it was exactly what needed to happen.

There are many reasons why we made the decision, most of which I'll process and blog about at http://www.mick-b.blogspot.com/, but I can briefly cover a couple here. We've been working at this for over four years now and we hadn't seen the results we expected. More specifically, I've worked two jobs the whole time we've tried to start the church and, because of that, I just wasn't able to give it the time I needed to. I had hoped that, as we progressed, the state convention and other churches would see our commitment and advancement and join us with financial support. When that didn't happen, we knew it would be difficult to continue but we pressed ahead. We also know now that we are the third church to be unable to start up in that community. (We weren't aware of this until after we had begun meeting as a church.)

It is, however, very difficult for us to refer to this as a "failure". We know, without a doubt, that God called us to this mission in this location at this time. I can only assume that I misunderstood what the goal was. God was using this to teach, not build the next mega-church in Houston. There have been numerous times that we were ready to call it quits, but God would give us something that made us know we were to continue. The interesting thing is that, as Etta and I discussed ending it this time, no "divine rescue" came. It was clear that it was time to stop and see what God had next for us. Just so you know, I don't know what that is yet. But He'll tell us when He's ready.

I can only begin to tell you all the things I have learned that I can take into my next ministry--I'll cover more of it at my blog. I can say that one thing I've learned is that when God gives people in your church a vision and a calling, you get behind them. I've also learned things about planning, budgeting, vision-casting, outreach, and countless other things that I never would have learned in a traditional, established church setting. I have amassed a treasure trove of knowledge that I can't wait to begin to unpack and see how God is going to put it to use.

Thank you, from the bottom of hearts, for all of you who prayed and gave to support our vision. You didn't give to us, you gave to God, and He used that to change lives. That's all you can ask for any time you give to Him. And your prayers kept us going when nothing else did.

This isn't the end for us, just a page turn to the next chapter. We are eager to see where God takes us next. Pray with us as we seek to be right in the middle of His will.

Michaelhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-2467707196808143702.post-74812457233727472172011-03-02T12:46:00.017-06:002011-03-03T15:36:08.272-06:00Humble Pie: Tastes Like Crap and Good for You Too!Have you ever sat in a room with your wife and a group of people you consider your friends and have all of them tell you how the very thing you love to do isn't as good as you think it is? I have. It ain't that great.

Sunday night, February 27th, in the course of discussion of our vision and future as a church plant, we got on the subject of my preaching. I think I may have been the one to bring it up. Thus began about 15 minutes of what was wrong (and occasionally what was right) with my preaching.

This is nothing new. Every Sunday, I ask Etta what she thought of my sermon and I want honesty. I want to know if I made sense, if it connected, etc. I want her to analyze the delivery, style, content--everything. And she does. Completely. Honestly. Bluntly. But that's how we roll, so it's okay. Many of her critiques have centered around the fact that though I get very excited about the research and the exegesis, which is vital to deliver God's word with clarity, I tend to deliver a sermon that's very wooden and academic, at least for the first 15-20 minutes. But she always adds that the application portion, usually saved until the end, is better and more relateable. And she expressed the same on that Sunday night.

Let's just say my Leadership Team concurred. They were very positive about it and even told how they generally love that kind of academic, in-depth study. But not so much on Sunday morning. It would be great on Wednesday-small-group-night but it comes across as more professorial and less preacherly on Sunday.

Now, I wanted to give them all the reasons for exegetical, verse-by-verse, through-the-Bible messages. But it wasn't necessary, especially to my wife who typed all my papers in seminary. Besides, I had to hear what they were saying, not the words they were using. What they want is not a less exegetical sermon but a more passionate one.

I admit, I'm not a snort-and-blow preacher who slings snot and tears at every turn, but I am passionate--I thought. But again, they weren't asking for flair and emotion-they were asking for passion. They were asking for their pastor to preach from his heart not from a series.

You see, I want to be like all the great preachers out there that have a clever title that everyone smiles at and preach a series that has, at least figuratively, motocross behind me and hot air balloons and Ferraris and dog tricks. But that's not me. So what my people were getting was a seminary lecture because there was a box I was trying to put myself into: the preach-through-a-book-exegetically-but-keep-it-topical-and-interesting box. And I was having trouble making me fit there.

I'm pretty sure Etta said this every Sunday, a friend wrote me a note last summer that said this, and my team said it Sunday: passion isn't external, it's internal. They want me to preach from my hurts, struggles, victories, questions, and needs. They want to see a pastor on the stage that gets them and where they are. You can read my post on plastic preachers and how I dislike them, and now I was becoming one. Until Sunday, February 20th...

Saturday, February 19th, I was done with church planting. Too many things were falling down around me to be able to continue. My sermon prep day is Saturday but this time, I didn't want to do it. So I didn't. I knew one family would be out; therefore, we would likely only have two families at church on Sunday. So we were going to cancel church and go to Denny's. There, I would probably tell them that we were closing the church before too long because I was done. Sunday morning came, I had no sermon prepared and at 10:15 we would cancel and leave. And at 10:14 a very sweet family that has shown they want to be a part of our church came. So I couldn't cancel. Did I mention I had no sermon?

Earlier in the week, a friend had sent me a verse, Isaiah 41:8-10.

8 But you, Israel, my servant,Jacob, whom I have chosen,the offspring of Abraham, my friend;9 you whom I took from the ends of the earth,and called from its farthest corners,saying to you, "You are my servant,I have chosen you and not cast you off";10 fear not, for I am with you;be not dismayed, for I am your God;I will strengthen you, I will help you,I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
So I fed off this verse and mainly talked about how, though I believe this verse, it's often hard for me to live this verse. I basically griped a little while and bared my soul.

And it turned out to be one of my best sermons. And this according to my team, definitely not according to me. I thought it probably sucked. So why did they think so highly of it?

Because it correctly parsed the Hebrew? No.
Because it had a clever title and a catchy hook? No.
Because I had a Bentley or skateboarders on the stage? No.
Because it was from my heart and an expression of what God was doing in my life? Yeah.

So that Sunday night, February 27th, I feasted on humility. It wasn't easy, but I know it was best for the church and for me. Am I now worried that I have lost my ability to lead, because I allowed my team to critique me? Just the opposite. I believe I am a better leader because I showed I am willing to learn and correct myself. If we as leaders believe we are infallible, we will soon have no one following us. People are begging to follow someone who "gets" them. One of the many attractive aspects of Jesus is that, because He was fully human, He fully gets us. We as leaders are certainly no better than Him.

So, it didn't taste good. It wasn't fun. But it was necessary. Leaders: be willing to hear the criticism of those that are following you. It might just make you a better leader.Michaelhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-2467707196808143702.post-78426921407632224122011-01-10T09:23:00.002-06:002011-01-10T09:26:29.415-06:0011 Rules of Life That You Won't Learn In SchoolFrom an article written by Charles J. Sykes in 1996, so forgive the reference to a "car phone" as a status symbol.

Rule 1: Life is not fair--get used to it!

Rule 2: The world won't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something before you feel good about yourself.

Rule 3: You will not make $60,000 per year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.

Rule 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait until you get a boss.

Rule 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your grandparents had a different word for burger flipping--they called it opportunity.

Rule 6: If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault. So don't whine about your mistakes; learn from them.

Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes, and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parents' generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.

Rule 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life has not. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you as many times as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to anything in real life.

Rule 9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you "find yourself." Do that on your own time.

Rule 10: Television is not real life. In real life, people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.

Rule 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.Michaelhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-2467707196808143702.post-57366361718821534222010-12-24T11:48:00.004-06:002010-12-24T15:06:24.326-06:00"Merry Christmas" is for ChristiansI've read and heard a lot about the debate over "Merry Christmas" in businesses, companies, etc. and decided to add my two cents to the conversation. I see the point of most of the sides of this argument, so I'll try to address each.

I agree that the loss of "Merry Christmas" shows the further secularization of America and I don't like that. The question we must ask, though, is "Is this a battle worth fighting?" Is it one we can win? Is it one we need to worry about winning? I'm not taking a defeatist stance and saying we can't stop the tide, so don't try. (Though we can't stop the tide. Read Revelation.) What I am saying is we may need to re-evaluate where we are using our resources. Ed Stetzer said it well that we should be more worried about telling people about Jesus rather than making them say Merry Christmas.

Another point about this battle is that it doesn't affect our evangelism. How many people will have their eternity affected negatively if Lowe's sells holiday trees instead of Christmas trees? There are definite battles that do have implications on people's salvation: evolution, abortion, redefining marriage. These are issues that are gospel-centered. What greeting we use at Christmas is not. We must focus on what gets people saved (or hinders salvation, morality, etc.), not what just ruffles our feathers.

Besides, can we truly expect secular organizations, often led by people indifferent to the theological reason for Christmas, to focus on the spiritual impact of the season? We can't. We scoff at people that obviously "say the right things" (hallelujah, praise God, etc.) in church or around pastors when we know good and well that they have no concept of salvation through Jesus Christ. They are merely going through motions and we don't approve. So why should we demand it of businesses that are merely going through motions so as to not lose money from boycotting Christians?

I daresay we are, in a sense, asking them to take God's name in vain, using the original meaning of the commandment. They are taking the name of Jesus (Christ-mas) in a way that is purely meant to positively affect their bottom line. Wouldn't that fall into the definition of taking God's name in vain (no purpose other than personal benefit)?

Let them say "Happy Holidays" or "Seasons Greetings." As Christians worshipping the Savior whose birth we celebrate, we'll say "Merry Christmas." And smile when you do it. Until there is a law that says we can't. When that day comes, we have bigger issues than our favorite Christmas greeting.Michaelhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-2467707196808143702.post-31515165670950032892010-03-29T09:23:00.005-05:002010-03-30T09:13:40.970-05:00Fasting Still Works!!Now, I'm not saying that when we fast we have tricked God into giving us what we want. What I am saying is that because we are attuned to God, we are more likely praying in His will. When that happens, the Bible says God will give those things to us (1 John 5:14-15). So I'm finding that my fasting has resulted in prayer more focused on Him--not me and my wants--and this has led to many answered prayers.

What if we all took a day here or there to fast and pray? I think we would see some incredible things happen in the church.Michaelhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-2467707196808143702.post-58989956468898223042010-03-12T14:38:00.004-06:002010-03-17T12:19:40.694-05:00A Ritual ObligedI now understand how a great spiritual discipline can become an empty chore or worse, an afterthought.

I am still committed to my Lenten fast from Coke and to my one day a week fast from food. But they quickly lost their status as spiritual encouragers and became just another thing I had to do. Within two weeks, it had become an empty tradition, as Jesus called it.

If it can happen in two weeks, what becomes of a lifetime of going to church every Sunday and Wednesday? What becomes of reading your Bible and praying everyday? As I examine these things, I find that most days they blend into the cluttered backdrop of other check marks on my to-do list.

We have to fight (Paul said in the same way that we buffet our bodies) to make sure that our spiritual disciplines remain spiritual. Church isn't just a social gathering or business meeting, prayer isn't a soliloquy, Bible reading isn't a sedative to help us sleep, and fasting isn't a diet plan. These are opportunities to fine-tune our heart strings to our Composer, Concert Master, and Conductor.

As I renew (daily) my commitment, renew with me (daily) your commitment to the spiritual disciplines God has set before us.Michaelhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-2467707196808143702.post-929036254070309842010-02-18T22:46:00.004-06:002010-02-19T11:32:29.756-06:00A Fast ObservedThough I am not usually a participant in Lent, this year, due to the gravity of the spiritual war we are in while planting Hope Fellowship, I decided it would be a good idea to observe the spiritual discipline of fasting. I'm running a couple of fasts for Lent: I have sworn off Coke (I'm a two-a-day type) and I have chosen a day each week to fast from food. The day I've chosen isn't important--I don't want to appear to be fishing for praise from men and thus have my reward.

The Coke thing is hard: I have refrigerator full of them in my classroom and a refrigerator full of them at work at Domino's. The fasting from food for a day was difficult, but not as hard as the Cokes--I knew food was just hours away.

So what did I learn?

I'm not doing it for holiness, per se, or as a rote Christian requirement. The desire for those things I've given up are used as a stimulus to pray for and about our church plant.

And let me tell you, it works.

As if planting a church isn't on my mind enough, it is a constant burden while fasting. But it was an easy yoke. I knew throughout the experience that I was communing with God. My awareness of Him was heightened--not in any mystical, go-out-in-the-desert way--but in a way that had my entire day focused on Him. Through my hunger I found joy and assurance that He was in control, aware of everything we need as a family and church plant, and has every intention of fulfilling those needs in His good time and by His good methods. Incredible is a good word for the experience.

And the kicker? Less than a day after my first full fast, multiple prayers were answered.

Should it surprise anyone that God's ways, taught through His word, work?

Sometimes, I'm afraid, we are surprised. But it sure is an awesome surprise.Michaelhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-2467707196808143702.post-74665765509816769102010-02-10T11:30:00.009-06:002010-02-10T12:45:10.089-06:00Ahhh, deja vu...Remember the feeling after church camp? You were excited, you were pumped, you were storming Hell with a water pistol, and you promised to God and everybody that you were going to take your Bible to school with you that fall. You came back Saturday, slept all day, then had a service at church on Sunday to remember, relive, and reinvigorate.

Then Monday came.

You still had chores, you still got in trouble with parents, and you realized that you weren't really looking forward to the impending arrival of school. Maybe you had a job to go back to. Somehow, the Jesus high got lost in flipping burgers or cleaning up after someone else's brat kid.

I just had the pleasure of reliving that experience.

When we learned last week that we were approved for Fall Creek Elementary for our services, I was pumped. When we had a meeting of our LAUNCH Team Saturday night, I was excited. Sunday came and I was able to tell people what was happening and that things were speeding forward.

Then Monday came.

I still had to work, I still had troubles with people, and I had no clue how all these wonderful plans were going to work out. Somehow, the church planting high got lost in delivering pizzas and teaching someone else's brat kids.

But here's what I know:

"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear nothing, for You are with me." Psalm 23:4

This is no shadow of death!! These are everyday struggles. There are some tense moments of stress, some problems to be worked out, and some logistics to puzzle through, but this ain't staring death in the face.

Therefore, we push forward, resting in the assurance of the green pastures of God's provision. If he's got my back when death comes messing around, then I know He's got me with something as mundane as living. We simply wait on him to provide.

Even when reality dashes our white-hot excitement with a frigid bucket of blah.Michaelhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-2467707196808143702.post-7129350744373880052010-02-09T11:44:00.002-06:002010-02-09T11:53:00.201-06:00Full disclosureI am so completely stressed right now. As a matter of fact, in the three years that Etta and I have known of our call by God to plant a church, I have not felt more pressure or stress about it. I'm sure there will be equally difficult, if not more so, places in the church planting travelogue, but this one is kicking my tail right now.

We finally have a location and a start date. But that just exacerbates the other uncertainties: where will the money come from to complete the tasks we need to, people to fulfill all the roles, how can I work 65 hours a week and still plant a church, etc.

God has been incredibly faithful for these three years, both in our home life and church planting life. I am supremely confident that He will continue to guide and direct it all. But some days it gets hard. Real hard.

"Lord, I believe! Help my unbelief!"Michaelhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-2467707196808143702.post-65020652939563972962010-02-02T09:10:00.002-06:002010-02-02T09:17:10.724-06:00Hope Fellowship Update - 020210If you've been wondering how all this would work out and the timing of the events, it's been formalized. This is our proposal of the way things will go over the next nine months. We also have a HUGE prayer request for you to lift up. I'll give you the timeline first and then the prayer needs.

Activity
Date
Projected Cost

Purchase equipment for services
3/1/2010
$5,000.00

Advertising for April preview service
3/10/2010
$10,000.00

April preview service
4/3/2010 - Easter Sunday
$1,000.00

Advertising for May preview service
4/10/2010
$5,000.00

May preview service
5/1/2010
$1,000.00

Advertising for June preview service
5/10/2010
$5,000.00

June Preview service
6/5/2010
$1,000.00

Advertising for July preview service
6/10/2010
$5,000.00

July preview service
July 4th
$3,000.00

Advertising for August preview service
7/10/2010
$5,000.00

August preview service
8/7/2010
$1,000.00

Advertising for Lauch Service
8/10/2010
$10,000.00

Launch service
9/12/2010
$5,000.00

Television advertising
June-November
$10,000.00

Total Cost for 6 months of pre-launch
$67,000.00

We currently have about $200 per month pledged, so we have a long way to go toward our goal.

Now for our HUGE prayer need: I have been in contact with the facilities coordinator for Humble ISD about renting two elementary school cafetoriums. The first one we want to rent is Summerwood Elementary. It currently has a church meeting in it on Sunday mornings, but we want to rent it on Saturday nights to have our monthly preview services in. We would communicate clearly and repeatedly that we would begin our weekly services on September 12th on Sunday mornings in a different location. That different location would be Lakeshore Elementary. It isn't available for renting at all until school starts because it is less than a year old (HISD policy). So pray with us that we get approved for both locations.

Two good things could come out of this. The first is that the church that is meeting in Summerwood Elem would move out before the next school year and we wouldn't have to change locations. That is a possibility as they are currently building on a site. Pray for their finances and their building to be done rapidly. The second possible good outcome would be that we have so many people that want/need a Saturday night service that we launch on September 11th/12th with two services: one Saturday night and one Sunday morning. We would be excited about either occurrence.

Pray with us about how you can give financially. There is a lot to be done and few resources with which to make it happen. Currently, our only financial support is through individuals. There are no churches, conventions, or institutions supporting this effort. But we know that, as God provides through you, we will see amazing things happen in the lives of Houstonians living in Summerwood.

Also, pray about how you can be "boots on the ground" for us. We are going to need a group of about 15-20 people each weekend of our preview services to help us pass out info cards in the neighborhoods on Saturday morning, prayer-walk, and take part in the preview service that night. This will be vital to creating immediate excitement for the preview services. This is something that my launch team of 6 adults can't do on their own. We need your help for this vital part of the process.

Thank you so much for your continued prayer and financial support of this work that God is doing in Northeast Houston.Michaelhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-2467707196808143702.post-8660374547676497012010-01-15T15:41:00.003-06:002010-01-15T15:51:54.699-06:00Yes, I'm still here.Time has not permitted posting, but I will strive to do better.

We have hit a critical phase in planting Hope Fellowship. We are planning our first preview service for Easter Sunday and we are struggling to find a place to meet. We have some options, but they are few and slow in developing.

But we are learning. I've known all along this would be slow and that has proven to be the case. But we are still seeing God work and gradually realize some reasons for His timing. We are also seeing how He is continuing to work things out.Michaelhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-2467707196808143702.post-17863296207167145372009-08-10T16:45:00.004-05:002009-08-10T16:46:58.918-05:00Rethink what we do sometimes as the church...<object width="400" height="200"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/D7_dZTrjw9I&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/D7_dZTrjw9I&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="250"></embed></object>Michaelhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-2467707196808143702.post-34501538426769614892009-08-09T02:07:00.000-05:002009-08-09T02:08:15.026-05:00Looking forward to tomorrow night...Tomorrow night is our first Bible study in the Passmore's home. We should have one newcomer, I'm excited about teaching on Galations, and Etta has done an INCREDIBLE job developing the kids' Bible study to go along with what the adults are studying. The series in Galatians is entitiled The Audacity of the Free and Easy Life. We'll be looking at how Paul let the Galatians and us know that the gospel of grace gives us a life FREE from the condemnation of the law and instead, offers a plan as EASY as faith, not requiring the works of the law. Tomorrow night is The Audacity of Exclusivity. We'll be looking at how Paul clearly tells us that there is only one gospel and no other. Jesus is the ONLY way to God.Michaelhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-2467707196808143702.post-11894575044203986042009-07-25T16:50:00.001-05:002009-07-25T16:52:22.398-05:00Hope Update - 072509We've seen some changes over the last few weeks at Hope Fellowship and have started with a new era in our church plant and outreach. First, a little recap of where we've been:

We began our first outreach in September 2007 by eating at Manuel's Mexican Restaurant every week at the same time on the same day. We did that for 9 months. During that time we left cards about our church at the counter. Two months after we stopped eating there regularly, a family picked up our card. Eight months after that, in April of 2009, they joined us and began working with us toward our launch. In September of 2008, we moved our church into an apartment in the community of Summerwood where we are called to plant. In January of 2009, a young, single woman joined and has been a very active force in our plant. Do the math: 2 years, two families. We realized long ago that this would be a slow process. Throughout the year in the apartment, we did various outreach events in the complex: cookouts, meals, car washes, etc. We interacted with over 250 people in that time and had a weekly Bible study time. We could get people to the events, but we couldn't get them to Bible study. We also offered special studies, like Financial Peace, with poor results.

At the beginning of this summer, we moved into the community center in Summerwood. The idea was to offer various meeting times and people who wouldn't come to the apartment would come to the community center. About the time we started in the center, I met with my associational church planting consultant. She reminded me that the number one rule of church planting (what I had learned in numerous seminars and meetings) was to build relationships. We had been trying to attract people to church things, not truly build relationships with them. We had lost our focus.

What I am NOT saying is that the past two years have been a waste. Everything we have done has brought someone in. I truly believe that each move we have made has been exactly what God has told us to do. He said do it, He didn't say He'd bring us 100 people because we did it. The exception to that is the community center. I feel like that was me, not God, so we got out of there in a hurry. That brings us to what we are doing now.

A few weeks ago we started meeting at the home of the family that learned of us at Manuel's. We pray and then we walk. Sunday and Tuesday. Their neighborhood has two blocks in it with 85 homes on those blocks. We pray as we walk, we talk as we walk, and we speak to everyone we possibly can. This is no power walk. We stroll. The goal is to meet as many people as possible. We want them to see Etta and me, get used to seeing us, and have opportunities to talk about the weather or kids or pets or landscaping or whatever. Why? To build relationships. We've walked the neighborhood about 8 times now. There are people whose names we now know and others we just know on sight. This is our foot in their spiritual door.

This Sunday, the 26th, we are having a block party in the neighborhood. We passed out flyers Tuesday night and got some good reaction from some people we talked to. One lady even asked if there was something she could bring! We don't know how many to expect but we are praying for a traumatic blessing. This is a very low-key event. God may present opportunities to witness, and we certainly won't be shy about what we are doing, but this is not a Hope Fellowship coming out party. We want to sit and talk and build relationships. As my consultant told me, churches are no longer geographical, they are relational. People don't come to church because it's in their area; they come because they connected with someone. This Sunday, we are looking for connections.

Pray that we make connections.
Pray that, because of the relationships we make, people come to know Christ and we see growth in the kingdom.
Pray for the church's finances. Though we have had to put some of our personal money into it, there is never anything the church needed that we've had to go without. However, a little monetary boost now and then never hurts. You can give at our website.
Pray for our focus. I will begin teaching again in a couple of weeks (at a new school, by the way) so my time will be more limited. There is always a lot to do.
Pray for our launch. I had set a date of September 13th to launch, but that won't happen. We are now looking at February.
Pray for our new Bible study time. We will begin August 9th having Bible study in the Passmore's (the Summerwood family) home at 6PM. Pray that our new relationships will lead people to come.
Pray for whatever the Lord lays on your heart. He'll let you know what we need.

Thanks so much for your faithfulness to us. If you know of people who would like to receive this update, send their email to me and I will add them. We can always use more prayer.Michaelhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-2467707196808143702.post-14572832440834036252009-05-25T15:13:00.002-05:002009-05-25T15:16:53.328-05:00Hope Update 052509First, happy Memorial Day. We praise God for the sacrifice of the men and women that have died for our freedom.

Now for the update.

We have some great news! We are finally moving our Bible study into the Residents' Club in Summerwood! This has been one of our goals for a couple of months now and it's finally happening. This is really going to give us much better exposure to the wider community of Summerwood. Pray that this new tool in our arsenal will be effective in getting our name out there. We are still in the stage of needing name recognition as much as anything.

Thanks again to that family that donated the money to pay for our entire lease of the apartment. We will be moving out of it in July, but we would not be where we are now if it had not been for their generosity.

With these new opportunities come new monthly expenses. We would love to have anyone who is able sponsor a particular need in this new opportunity. I've listed the new needs and their monthly costs. If you would like to support one of these areas, you can mail us a check or give online at our website. The needs are as follows:

Community center rent: $25 per week
Summerwood newsletter $50 per month
Storage unit $100 per month

We also are beginning another round of Financial Peace University this summer at the home of Brett and Amy Passmore. Please pray that this allows us an opportunity to begin some new relationships and continue to see Hope Fellowship grow.

Thank you for all that you do for us and please continue to lift us up in your prayers.Michaelhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-2467707196808143702.post-56803661900603199472009-05-17T19:38:00.000-05:002009-05-17T19:39:38.102-05:00Hope Update 051709
This is after the fact, but we had a great turnout for a cookout at the pool. It was cooler and cloudier than we had planned for, but it still worked out great. We had about 50-55 people turn out, and about half of those were new contacts. We are about to barrel into the summer with a lot of different outreach activities. I've listed a few that you can begin praying for:

More cookouts
Carwashes
Handing out breakfast at the apartment gates
4th of July parade
Advertising in the Summerwood newsletter

One major prayer request is the moving of our Bible study to the Summerwood Community Center. The management company that runs it is EXTREMELY slow and unorganized. We have done everything necessary and thought we would hold our first meeting there on May 5th. We still have not moved in. Pray that the company will get their act together and we will be able to move in soon. Meeting there will open us up to the community in a way we haven't had before.

If you would like to make a donation of $10 or so to help pay for the cookout, that would be awesome. You can go HERE and give online.

Thanks so much for all you do.
Michaelhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-2467707196808143702.post-68658752854358725402009-04-06T19:06:00.001-05:002009-04-06T19:09:23.927-05:00Hope Praises!We had a great Cookout/egg hunt on Sunday. We had about 55 people attend, over half of which were children. Of that 55, only about 5-7 had been to one of our events before. That's good, because it means we are introducing ourselves to new people every time. We had quite a few that were interested in the Bible study. Pray that they follow through.

On Saturday, we spoke to a member of one of the families we asked you to pray for a while back. We didn't give any names to you, but God knows who we're thinking of. She seemed very interested, said she had been praying about where to go, so continue to pray for them and 2 other families that God has laid on our hearts.

A special thank you goes out to two churches:

The first, Kingwood First Baptist, allowed us to borrow tables, chairs, and a sound system for the day. Thanks so much to them.

The second goes out to Second Baptist Bridge City, TX and Pastor Bobby Hoffpauir. They are the process of completely remodeling their sanctuary that was destroyed by Hurricane Ike. They are also struggling with the loss of church members who have moved because of the lack of jobs in Bridge City as a result of Ike. Yet, that church that has all its own struggles donated $200 to today's event! That is an incredible amount of faith for that church and it was a tremendous blessing to us. Had they not been so generous and made such a sacrifice, we could not have had this event at all. Thank you so much Pastor Hoffpauir and the people of Second Baptist.

Thank you to everyone who prayed. We are still seeing a build in momentum. Our plans are to be in the Summerwood Community Center in May and we are still trusting God for a launch date of September 13th. Please remember us every time you approach the Throne of Grace.Michaelhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-2467707196808143702.post-84249177443753552362009-03-30T19:38:00.006-05:002009-03-30T19:52:48.706-05:00Extended Narrative of Recent Events.Do the things of God ever work as fast as we would like? Probably not, and the last few months have been a testament to that fact. Etta and I are in God's "Fruit of the Spirit Educational System" and are apparently pursuing our master's in patience. Let me tell you, the curriculum is tough.

But there still has been a lot of activity. Our first bit of news is the change of our name. Our mission statement is "To make disciples by sharing the hope of the gospel of Jesus Christ for the healing of hearts from our community to the world." Our vision statement is "To be a place of hope for the hopeless and healing for the hurting through hearts changed by Jesus Christ." So, in order to better express our mission and vision, we changed our name to Hope Fellowship. There are only a few more steps to make the change official. We also changed our website to http://www.hopehealinghearts.net/.

We've had two outreach events in the apartment complex. In February we had a pancake brunch, but only had 6 people attend. In March, we had a taco lunch and had 30 attend. We were incredibly excited about that increase. On April 5th, we are having an Easter egg hunt/cook out for the complex. We hope to have music, food, giveaways, the egg hunt, and we will invite people to a get-to-know-us time at our apartment. This will be our biggest and most expensive event yet, so we could really use your prayers and financial support.

We found out that one of our outreaches is meeting needs we could have never known about. When we go through a drive-thru restaurant, we pay for the order for the car behind us and give them our church card with plan of salvation on it. Following is an email from a friend of ours showing what God does when we are obedient:

You are not going to believe this!! I had lunch Friday with the school district's internal auditor and a couple of other bookkeepers. We were just talking and one of them asked what church I attend and so I told her [not our church start] and then she went on to tell us a story about right after the hurricane [Ike], how broke she was and had to borrow money from someone to put gas in her car and with the left over money she was buying her kids a meal from McDonald's in Summerwood, and she said she was just having a really bad day, and when she pulled up to pay, the lady said "The car in front of you paid your bill," and she could not believe it!!! And she went on to say that it was this really nice couple with 2 little boys and they are opening a church in Summerwood. I got chills all over my body!!! I said I know them and I have to tell them this because they are trying so hard to open this church and keep having obstacles in their way. She said she would like to try your church out and I told her she should. She said when she decides to try it will I come with her because she is not good at things like this. I said sure let me know when you want to and I would love to go with you. She is unchurched and apparently her husband is an alcoholic. Very sweet lady. Her name is ----------.

Needless to say, we were more than a little moved by God using us to minister. We have grown since our last update. We have a young lady from the complex who is extremely involved and very excited. We also had a couple and their 8 year-old daughter visit last week. You may remember that we began to eat at a restaurant in Summerwood in September of 2007. While there, we left business cards on the counter. Summer of 2008, this couple picked up one of our cards and has been following our blog and progress. They joined us last week. The most awesome thing about it is that they live in the neighborhood of Summerwood, not in the apartment complex. They immediately began to help us gain access to the community center and other facilities for outreach and in order to move our Bible study. This will finally get us into the center of the community we have been called to reach! We are ecstatic about the opportunities God is unfolding in front of us.

Please continue to pray for us. We have come a long way, we are gaining momentum, but there is still a long way to go. Our families and even our large churches are feeling the current financial crunch, so you can imagine what it is doing to a small church start like us with an extremely tight budget. But God has not failed us—He has provided exactly what we needed every time we needed it. And I have hope (confident expectation) that He will do it. Our God never fails.

Michaelhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-2467707196808143702.post-69314624683912492492009-03-25T14:20:00.002-05:002009-03-25T14:27:46.775-05:00Praise, praise, praise!Boy, have we got a praise!

Let me remind you of our past:

Over two years ago, we began our outreach by eating at Manuel's in Summerwood on Tuesday nights. We developed great relationships with the staff, two of which have continued to this day, but nothing that lead to anyone visiting our church start. By God's leading—and not being sure what would come of it—we put out our business cards with a whole nest of others on the counter at the cash register.

Last summer, a family picked one up.

Tonight, they came to Bible study.

We don't know whether they will continue on with us or not. That's between them and God, but we hope they do. (Hey Brett and Amy.) But here's the most amazing part. They are going to be our "sponsors" in Summerwood. That's right—they live in Summerwood, not in the apartments. And they are looking into the rental of the community center. Since they live there, they can do it for us and we can use it. That way, if we are unable to move to Summerwood this summer, we still have access to all the facilities. They have agreed to do this, regardless of whether or not they join our church! That is awesome!

So now, we finally have our toehold in the Summerwood community and can begin outreach events there—like water at parades, cokes at the pools, surveys, etc, etc. So please pray for us:

Pray that we know the next step to take.
Pray that our finances improve enough to get us, specifically, through the next 3 months.
Pray for our cookout on Palm Sunday, as this may be the last BIG event we do for a few months in the complex (money, you know).
Pray for 3 families that WE are praying will join us at Hope.
Pray that, if it is truly God's will, that the resources are there for us to move to Summerwood right on time.

Thank you so much for all you do.Michaelhttp://email@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-2467707196808143702.post-33772096561448720682009-03-19T12:12:00.002-05:002009-03-19T12:15:06.461-05:00Pray for the cook-out
First, I neglected to let y'all know of a loss in our lives. Etta's Grandpa AD died last Thursday in Wichita, KS. We went up on Saturday (8 ½ hour drive squeezed into 12 hours), wake on Sunday, Funeral on Monday, returned on Tuesday (8 ½ hour drive squeezed into 12 hours). He had pancreatic cancer and had been suffering quite a bit the last couple of weeks so, as a child of God, He is MUCH better off. Pray specifically for Etta's grandmother Lois. As we all would if in the same situation, she is taking it very badly.

Here are the promised details on our cook-out.

Palm Sunday, April 5th from 1-3, we will have an Easter egg hunt for the kids of the apartment complex. We have secured the donation of the money for about 1000 plastic eggs to fill with candy. We will also cook hamburgers and hotdogs on the grills at the complex. We are borrowing a sound system so we can play Christian music and make announcements and shamelessly promote ourselves. We want to have a 6x3 banner with our church name and website on it. We will have surveys to fill out and will have giveaways/drawings for those filling them out.

During the giveaways, we are going to invite everyone there to a short devotional/get-to-know-what-we're-doing time at 3:30. It will be an opportunity to get them in the door and see what we're about.

This is an extremely ambitious project for us, both in terms of work and finances. The total cost is going to be about $700. It is a lot of money, but the complex is getting behind it and advertising for us, so we want to make sure we do the best possible job. We are asking individuals and churches to help us fund it. I have listed below individual costs for different parts of the event. If you or your church could fund an entire part of the event, that would be incredible. If you can only give a donation toward the whole event, that would be extremely helpful.

We really feel like we are gaining traction in the community. We feel like, when the time comes to begin reaching out to larger Summerwood neighborhood, we will have a lot of momentum to carry us forward. But keeping that momentum depends on things like this cook-out. It seems simple but it is an awesome way for us to reach out with servant evangelism. Pray that we have the opportunity to present the gospel. Pray that we have a couple of hundred people come. Pray that we have the resources provided for us to be able to do this as well as possible.

Here is a list of the individual parts that you or your church could fund:
Candy and eggs: $200 (covered)
Banner: $150
Giveaways: $100
Food: $350

Whatever you can do would be a tremendous help. And your prayers are most important of all.
Michaelhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com:blogger.com,1999:blog-2467707196808143702.post-87933541991056742122009-03-02T20:13:00.001-06:002009-03-06T13:19:39.143-06:00Big Announcement and Big PrayerOkay, time for a big announcement: we are changing our name. We let you know we were praying about this a few weeks back and now we've come to a decision. Summerlake will now be Hope Fellowship. This name encapsulates our vision for the Summerwood community and beyond—bringing the only true hope for a lost, confused, and scared community. This name change is immediate. You will begin to see it on our website and in other places. However, if you are a financial supporter, please continue to make out checks to Summerlake until further notice.

I have not yet told you about our breakfast in February. We had a low turn-out, but that presented the opportunity for us begin deeper relationships. Pray for Rachel, a prospect for joining us and for Lynn and her daughter, a Seventh - day Adventist that we a long conversation with. Also pray for 3 other families that the Lord has lain on our hearts. These are people we feel like God may be leading to join us.

We are also hosting another outreach at the apartment complex. Sunday at 1PM, we are having a taco lunch. We also got permission to put flyers on the doors so we no longer have to mail announcements. Now we can be sure the people are looking at the card. Pray that we have a big turn-out for the lunch and that we can build relationships and witness for Christ.Michaelhttp://firstname.lastname@example.com


text:
A Texas high school took on Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars' hit song "Uptown Funk" in a high-energy video that went viral on YouTube.
A. Maceo Smith New Tech High School director and theater arts teacher Scot Pankey led his students in the choreographed performance that has gained nearly half a million views and counting since it was posted online on Jan 24.
"I heard the song before Christmas and fell in love with it," Pankey told FOX411. "I love Bruno Mars. We are a project-based school instead of having lectures. I said for our next project I want the students to get ready, and we would need to dance."
The theater students came together with technology students to help create the video.
"We are a tech school so to get them up dancing was a feat in itself," he said. "I have the best students in the world. I was hoping we would post on YouTube on Sunday, so their parents and friends would see it, and you would maybe 1,000 clicks and instead we have 400,000 in 48 hours."
The song mentions liquor but Pankey said his students know not to drink while underage.
"It was rhythm and not the lyrics that caused me to choose the song."
Fox News' Diana Falzone contributed to this report.

subset: commoncrawl


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text:
Wander through a park or a coffee shop in Henderson or North Las Vegas and ask voters to name their mayor. You might get a quizzical look or an uncertain reply, but the names Andy Hafen and Shari Buck are not likely to be consistently heard. Instead, a large percentage of people would probably offer one name—Oscar Goodman.
Just as Rudy Giuliani was America's mayor, Goodman has become the mayor of the Las Vegas Valley. His persona is so large, Boss Goodman has come to embody our region's spirit.
His term-limited era is about to end and that sparks a particular question for the 18 candidates in the post-Oscar primary race: how to resonate with voters in a community where fewer than one of every five registered voters is expected to cast a ballot in the April 5 primary?
Goodman's successful re-election bids in 2003 and 2007 saw voter turnout rates of just 18 percent and 15 percent, respectively, and a recent Las Vegas Review-Journal story noted that a similar number is expected to cast votes for a primary ballot that will have the largest field of candidates since 1967.
Yet, there are very real questions to be asked of the candidates in the six weeks before the primary balloting and—if no one grabs 50 percent plus one of the April 5 vote—the months before the June 7 general election. The answers could set the direction of the Valley for decades to come:
• Will our economic rebound be defined by a return to the residential, commercial and megaresort construction boom that preceded the collapse? Or could it be more strategic and diversified?
• What sort of industries and businesses would they pursue as a part of a diversification strategy, and how do we persuade potential employers that the Las Vegas Valley is a good place to raise families and hire first-rate workers?
• Will they use the city's bonding authority to create construction jobs?
• Should public employee pay and benefits be reduced, particularly for future hires?
• How important are our public schools and universities to our economic future, and what will you do to protect their budgets?
• Should urban sprawl continue once lenders open their vaults or should we look for more sensible development patterns?
• What do they think about the proposed consolidation of public services in a balkanized Valley, where three cities and the county often overlap?
• Would they support a statewide graduated, broad-based business tax on banks, big-box retailers and restaurateurs, similar to the taxes many of them willingly pay in neighboring states, with the money generating revenue for government services?
In a region that places a premium on well-known brands and compelling images, it is tempting to vote for Goodman's wife, Carolyn, to replace him as Las Vegas' mayor. She has the pedigree, the personality, connections, money and the experience of founding and operating The Meadows School in Summerlin.
For many, she is the intuitive choice to take the showcase office in City Hall. But low voter turnout and limited interest in local politics could offer an opening to any one of her three best-known and most politically connected opponents: Clark County Commissioners Larry Brown and Chris Giunchigliani, and Las Vegas Councilman Steve Ross.
Wealthy businessman and first-time political candidate Victor Chaltiel could have a shot if he aggressively spends his own money to establish name identification and assumes the anti-incumbent, successful entrepreneur label in the Tea Party era of voter outrage.
The race is further muddied by the deep ballot, which is nonpartisan and therefore lacks the organizing force of races in which the Democratic and Republican labels provide order to tickets where we know little about individual candidates. You have to crack the voter's guide, attend candidate debates and follow the daily news coverage to gain some understanding of the Gang of 18.
The Internet and cable TV could help educate voters, but it's fair to wonder if our media habits will allow us to think to see the civic landscape in a fresh light. We tend to seek out websites and cable channels that reinforce our attitudes, and our consideration of competing ideas is often limited to devising clever ways to shout them down.
Meanwhile, many newcomers seem simply to lack interest in local issues, preferring to learn as little as possible about their new home. Perhaps they believe they're simply passing through, or that they've paid their civic dues elsewhere so why bother to participate?
Goodman remains the wise-cracking, gin-swilling politician whose 12-year run has come to define our region in a manner reminiscent of the Daleys in Chicago, Ed Koch in New York City and Tom Bradley in Los Angeles. It is unusual for an elected official to become as big as the city he or she represents, but that is what Goodman has achieved, and it will be tough for some voters to let go of that last name.
But don't sell short the political savvy of Brown, Giunchigliani or Ross and their ability to turn out the vote. All three have established campaign operations, fundraising lists and key ties: Giunchigliani and Ross to labor; Brown to motivated northwest Valley voters.
And in the heat of a competitive general election campaign, that race could turn on an unexpected issue. It could even find the Goodmans and their apparent sense of familial entitlement becoming an issue.
The race could offer the latest stamp of approval for the Goodman name, or it could turn sour if a clever opponent generates a message that resonates with a small percentage of voters who decide that a well-known name is a liability in a time of deep economic trouble. Doubt it? Ask Rory Reid.


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Title: You are my sunshine
Rating: G
Pairing / Characters: Uzumaki Naruto, the rookie nine, Tsunade and Jiraiya
Word Count: 1,054 words
Warnings: No spoilers I can imagine
Summary: Naruto disappears
A/N: Part one of a little something I came up with… part two to follow!
You are my sunshine, my only sunshine
You make me happy when skies are grey
You'll never know dear, how much I love you
So please don't take my sunshine away
He hadn't even seen it coming.
Waking from a restless sleep, he had heard footsteps somewhere in the dark apartment but unable to guess their direction, he had remained in bed, tense, one hand inching towards the kunai pouch he had left carelessly on the bedside table.
Even so, it had been too late. An arm had wrapped around his throat, the other hand clamped against his mouth to stifle the instinctive yell. He hadn't been totally paralyzed, and had fought his attackers tooth and nail despite the fact that he didn't know how many of them there were.
In the morning, all that was left of his presence in Konoha was a dirty orange jumpsuit crumpled at the foot of his bed, a kunai embedded in a poster opposite the kitchen table, several muddy footprints, a cracked Konoha hitae-ate and a single, bloody handprint on the wall.
Uzumaki Naruto was gone.
of grey skies and rain clouds
Shikamaru sighed. 'This is so troublesome.'
Sakura nodded despondently. 'All it does is rain. All day and all night, every single moment of every single hour of every single day…'
It was an exaggeration on her part, but not by much. For the last two days, all it had done was rain, turning Konoha's streets into pools of muddy water that none but shinobi could successfully navigate.
Restless, bored with staying at home and watching the rain, the genin and Shikamaru had eventually gathered in the dojo, hoping to burn off excess energy by training with each other. Lee, naturally, had the most energy to burn off, and it had taken two fights with Neji, one with Tenten, three with Ino, and one with Chouji to satisfy his thirst for the "power of youth".
Now though, ten genin and one chuunin were sitting in the entrance hall, doing exactly what none of them actually wanted to – watching the rain.
'At least the flowers are getting water,' Hinata volunteered shyly.
Ino perked up. 'That's true. Even if I hate it, rain is good for business. It's been so bad lately.'
'Well, with Konoha the way it is, most of our energy is going into fixing things up,' Kiba pointed out before sniggering.
'At least the Fifth has found a way to keep Naruto out of her hair.'
At that, everyone laughed.
Tsunade had indeed found a way to keep him out of trouble- helping to repair the faces on the Hokage mountain. As no missions had come in of late, Naruto had spent the last week on the face of the Third, seeming to take unusual care in doing the repairs.
'He'll be the only one enjoying the rain, then,' Chouji said, 'since it means he doesn't have to do any work at all.'
'Come to think of it, has anyone seen him today at all?' Sakura asked suddenly.
Shikamaru shrugged. 'Training, probably. Either that or Tsunade-sama has sent him on another mission.'
'Sent who on another mission?'
Shikamaru jumped. 'Godaime!'
Tsunade planted her hands on her hips. 'Who am I supposed to have sent on a mission?'
'Er… Naruto. We haven't seen him today, and we were wondering – '
Tsunade interrupted. 'You haven't seen him? At all?'
Neji frowned. 'Is something wrong, Tsunade-sama?'
Tsunade sighed. 'No, no, nothing. He had a physical examination this morning but he missed it.'
'Sleeping late, probably,' Ino muttered. 'The lazy, good for nothing…'
'Ino!' Hinata protested – and then blushed.
'Bah, I'll find him sooner or later,' Tsunade grinned evilly. 'No one gets away from me in my own village…'
The group watched her stalk off, muttering pithily under her breath about stupid genin and their stupid habits apprehensively.
Ino glanced at Sakura. 'How you train under her is a mystery, Sakura. That woman is scary.'
Sakura just smiled, while inner Sakura roared 'Hell yes, she is!'
Shikamaru dropped his head into his hands, sighing again. 'How troublesome…'
By midday the rain had stopped, and the sun was shining weakly on the village. Whistling cheerfully, Jiraiya strolled down the streets, pretending to be oblivious to the evil eyes he was getting from several women who saw past his cheery demeanor.
The frog hermit glanced casually into the shops and stalls he passed, seeing nothing untoward. Sighing, he rounded the corner – and came across the genin.
'Yo,' he greeted.
'Jiraiya-sama,' sakura said in surprise. 'I didn't know you were back in the village.'
At her ominous tone, Jiraiya lifted his hands. 'I've only been here since yesterday afternoon, Sakura.'
Sakura glared at him, but Jiraiya was already going on. 'Have any of you seen Naruto, by the way? He never showed for his training this morning. I thought he would be either with you or Tsunade.'
Shikamaru tensed. 'We saw Tsunade-sama about half an hour ago- she was also looking for him.'
Abruptly serious, Jiraiya said 'So no one has seen him all morning?'
Sakura shook her head. 'We thought he was sleeping late…' she began uncertainly.
'Lee, go and fetch Tsunade. Have her meet me at Naruto's apartment – and tell her to bring the ANBU with her. The rest of you, follow me.'
There was a bleak note in the Sannin's voice that made the air vibrate with tension.
Less than fifteen minutes later, Tsunade, Jiraiya, two ANBU members, and the rookies were standing in the corridor outside Naruto's apartment.
The first ANBU member placed a gloved hand against the door. 'This has been opened recently, and locked again. It doesn't appear to be forced. However, it has been opened since then.'
He twisted the handle and the door swung open silently, revealing the dim interior.
Silently, the ANBU members reached for their katanas, and entered the room.
'Wait here, you lot,' Tsunade ordered, walking in behind them and reaching for the light switch.
For a moment there was silence- and Jiraiya swore viciously. 'We're too late. Damn them to hell!'
Shaken by what he heard, Shikamaru moved towards the door, glancing inside. What he saw made his eyes widen in shock as the Fifth picked something off the floor, and turned around.
A broken Konoha hitae-ate.


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East Mornington is open until 11pm 7 days a week!
Thereis never a good time to see a loved one in distress, but sickness and accidents can strike at any time.
At Peninsula Vet Care, we strive to ease the worry for you and your best friend if illness hits, so are excited to announce our East Mornington hospital is now open until 11pm 7 days a week!
Even if East Mornington is not your normal Peninsula Vet Care Hospital all our patient histories are linked, so we will have access to your pets important information if required.


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Wording For Wedding Evening Invitations was uploaded at May 5, 2017 at 2:37 am. It is published in the Wedding Invitation category. Wording For Wedding Evening Invitations is tagged with Wording For Wedding Evening Invitations, Wording, For, Wedding, Evening, Invitations..
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Forfor (fôr; unstressed fər),USA pronunciation prep.
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because of: to shout for joy; a city famed for its beauty.
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- (used to introduce a subject in an infinitive phrase): It's time for me to go.
- (used to indicate the number of successes out of a specified number of attempts): The batter was 2 for 4 in the game.
- for it, See in (def. 21).
- seeing that;
- because.
Weddingwed•ding (wed′ing),USA pronunciation n.
- the act or ceremony of marrying;
- the anniversary of a marriage, or its celebration: They invited guests to their silver wedding.
- the act or an instance of blending or joining, esp. opposite or contrasting elements: a perfect wedding of conservatism and liberalism.
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Eveningeve•ning (ēv′ning),USA pronunciation n.
- the latter part of the day and early part of the night.
- the period from sunset to bedtime: He spent the evenings reading.
- [Chiefly Midland and Southern U.S.]the time between noon and sunset, including the afternoon and twilight.
- any concluding or declining period: the evening of life.
- an evening's reception or entertainment: Their evenings at home were attended by the socially prominent.
- of or pertaining to evening: The evening sky shone with stars.
- occurring or seen in the evening: the evening mist.
Invitationsin•vi•ta•tion (in′vi tā′shən),USA pronunciation n.
- the act of inviting.
- the written or spoken form with which a person is invited.
- something offered as a suggestion: an invitation to consider a business merger.
- attraction or incentive;
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- invitational.
Wording For Wedding Evening Invitations have 3 pictures including Wedding Stationery, 14 Invitation Involving Children Informal, Wedding Invitation Etiquette And Wedding Invitation Wording. Here are the images:
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Disclosure: Not an access card.


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The Battle of the Book
St Colmcille is remembered too for his part in the ' Battle of the Book': Colmcille copied a book while a guest of St. Finian's. Finian claimed the copy as well as the book, but Colmcille refused. The dispute was brought to the High King of Ireland whose edict was: 'To every cow its calf and to every book its copy'.
In consequence, in 561 AD, the High King and Colmcille engaged in battle on the slopes of Benbulben. Aided by an angel, Colmcille won. Thousands of men were slain and the King forced to concede the copy of the psalter to Colmcille.


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Monique Lhuillier Elephant Plush Rocker
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Sweet and huggable, this rocker features solid wood handles and precision-shaped runners for a smooth, secure and gentle rocking motion. Imagined with world-renowned fashion designer Monique Lhuillier, it brings her contemporary, whimsical and magical design aesthetic to your little one's space.
- 65 cm wide x 34 xm deep x 56 cm high
- Expertly crafted of wood, metal frame and polyester velvet.
- Runners are crafted of solid wood.
- Ages 18–36 months.
Dimensions & More Info
- Overall: 65 cm wide x 34 xm deep x 56 cm high
- Weight Capacity: 18 kg
- Weight: 5.5 kg
- Spot clean with soft white damp cloth.
- Remove excess water.
- Air dry.
We offer three types of delivery (Small Parcel, Standard, Deluxe) determined by the products in your order. A product's delivery type is displayed under the "Stock Status" information on each product page online. Delivery charges are determined by your delivery destination and are charged per order. Multiple-product orders are charged according to the product with the highest delivery type. Sometimes products may arrive separately but you will only be charged one delivery fee per order. If orders ship separately, they may ship according to the ship mode specifically for the item being delivered and not the highest delivery mode for the order
Please provide a street address for delivery - we cannot ship to PO Boxes.
For pricing and further details, visit our Delivery Information Page.
NOTE: In some areas, we are unable to provide our full Deluxe service.


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Old Slave Mart Museum's McGill regales in tales 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry as portrayed in "Glory"
During his lectures about the famed 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment, there are times audiences can't tell if they are listening to present day Joe McGill or his alter ego, circa 1863 Joe McGill. Sometimes it's hard t
o tell if he even knows what version of himself he's speaking in. But it matters not, as the scholar has been speaking to standing room only crowds for weeks. Obviously, the scholar, educator, and part-time reenactor's part fact, part historical fiction style of portraying history, works.
Last week, as part of a three-part lecture series hosted by the Old Slave Mart Museum, in commemoration of Frederick Douglass' birthday along with Black History Month, McGill presented a program on the history of the 54th Massachusetts Regiment and the story behind the movie "Glory" to yet another packed house at the Museum. For his part, McGill let his creative hair hang down, telling some of the story in the past tense and some in the present, as the aforementioned circa 1863 McGill. The scholar, educator, and Old Slave Mart Museum employee's program was sponsored by the Humanities Council SC, a state program of the National Endowment of the Humanities.
Before he dove into the history of the 54th Massachusetts Regiment, McGill took the opportunity to prime his audience, as he often does, with a dose of context, a dose of reality. "What we don't want to do is mistake acquiescence as acceptance of being a slave, because anything beyond acquiescence would have been the elimination of a gene pool. Anything beyond acquiescence would mean I probably wouldn't be here before you tonight," said McGill in prefacing his telling of the history of the 54th Massachusetts and their fated assault on Battery Wagner.
The history portrayed in "Glory" is that of the creation, transformation, and implementation of the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry under Col. Robert Gould Shaw. The diminutive 25-year-old both in the history books and in the screenplay, trained the regiment hard, preparing them for the two battles that gave every black soldier's boot firm footing on which he (or she) could stand on, and still can today.
Before they made history however, the unit had to survive trial by fire. Their first skirmish served as proving ground for the fated assault on Battery Wagner two days later, but it also claimed many lives.
As JIM columnist Paul Hedden described it in his July 16, 2014 column, their move was a 'feint.' "This insignificant 'feint' was the Massachusetts' 54th first time in combat. They did not run, they did not cower. The 54th stood their ground and took an unusually high percentage of casualties: 14 killed; 17 wounded and 12 captured. The 54th suffered more than 93% of all the casualties suffered by Union forces in the fight at the Battle of Sol Legare."
Two days later on July 18, 1863, at 7:45 in the evening, the men of the 54th, led by Shaw, were running down the beach of Morris Island at a double-quick speed, on the vanguard for the Union's second assault on the 14-gun fort. With an impassible swamp on their left and the ocean on their right, the 54th and the rest of the Union Army was forced through a bottleneck in their approach to Wagner. It was just beyond that bottleneck that the Confederate soldiers really opened up on the attackers, laying waste to the assault with musket and cannon.
Though it lost a large portion of its men, the 54th Massachusetts did breach the fort, if momentarily, spurred on by their leader Shaw, who fell in the final charge. Men from the 54th climbed over the wooden stakes that ringed the fort, through a ditch, and up the wall of the fort before ultimately falling.
According to the circa 1863 version of Joe McGill, in reenactment character, "That was the opportunity we'd been waiting for. And the battle was lost, but we did prove one thing, that blacks would fight. We would not die with our backs to our enemy."
"The Northerners say this is a war about preserving the Union. The Southerners say this is a war about states' rights. But us … we've taken on an abolitionist cause. This is morality. No man should be a slave
"And that was their cause," said present-day McGill, turning back to his present day persona with the seeming flick of a proverbial light switch. "It allows the whole story to be told. All of that might not be pleasant, but it's important that we tell the whole story."
All in all over 174,000 free blacks enlisted in the Union Army, directly participating in some 39 skirmishes and being involved in an additional 420 in an ancillary way.
And in short that was the point McGill tried to hammer home throughout the evening: that the freed black man was ready, willing, and able to fight against the Confederate rebels just as well as whites. Or as the circa 1863 Joe McGill would say. "So if anyone should ask you, 'Will a slave fight?' tell them no. If anyone should ask 'Will a negro fight?' tell them yes."
The Old Slave Mart Museum, located at 6 Charmers St., recounts the story of Charleston's role in the inter-state slave trade by focusing on the history of the building that houses the museum and the slave sales that occurred there from 1856-1863. The City of Charleston acquired the property in 1988, reopening it as a museum in 2007. To learn more visit www.oldslavemart.org or call 843-958-6467. Admission is free.
For more information on Joesph McGill, check out his Slave Dwelling Project at http://slavedwellingproject.org. You can also reach McGill through the Old Slave Mart Museum.


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Colors & Shapes (Furniture & Accessories) was founded in 1977 to be one of the leading companies in the world of decoration in Lebanon. We are working since 35 years to offer our customers the best, by adopting the finest raw materials and the latest and most beautiful designs.
From the start, we believe that creativity is not just a word… "Colors and shapes" with its large collection of furniture and accessories offers you never-seen-before modern ideas. It does not matter what is the area that you want to design, we understand your ideas and we add our experience and our touch in the best way to fit your dream.
After a series of successes and creations in home decor, gardens, restaurants and offices, we have decided to enlarge the area of our business through the design and production of the most beautiful and newest weddings and events furniture and accessories.
As we were the first to take your comfort into account, as you can follow up your project on a daily basis through daily e-mails that include photos of all steps of the production of your project.
What we have is the beginning; we promise that we will always offer you the best, all we need is our imagination and your trust. Don't hesitate to contact us and dive deeper into the world that we have to offer!


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There are still many people who think that email marketing is not an important thing done by business owners. Do you also think so? Yes, it's quite difficult to get consumers interested in reading email marketing, but it can be overcome if you use a trusted email marketing service like solo ads so you can get an effective business promotion. Apart from that, here are some interesting facts about email marketing you need to know!
1. There are 3.6 million email accounts in 2013, and is forecast to increase to 4.3 million email accounts by 2016 later
2. Research conducted by McKinsey & Company shows that the use of email marketing has a level of effectiveness 40 times better than the use of a combination of Facebook and Twitter marketing.
3. Opening an account, reading, or writing an email is the most activity done smartphone users aged 18-44 years.
4. 91% of consumers open their email accounts at least once a day.
5. 43% of emails opened via a mobile device.
6. 64% of people who have policymaking positions open their email accounts via mobile devices.
7. Subject (email title) of less than 15 letters has a 58% chance of being read.
8. 33% of people open email based only on the subject of the email.
9. Subject email addressed to personal (and with personal greetings to the person receiving the email) is 22.2% more likely to be opened.
10. 72% of B2B (Business to Business) consumers share important information via email.


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At Jim Pattison Hyundai Nanaimo, our factory-trained technicians perform vehicle maintenance and servicing with genuine state-of-the-art equipment and workmanship that is certified and highly trained.
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This piece features adjustable shelves to help you create the most storage out of the space available. If you need to store larger items, simply remove the shelf or move it up or down to create the room you need. With adjustable shelving you can customize this item's look and storage options with ease.
The drop-front drawers available in select consoles ensure easy access and additional storage space for media components and video game consoles. Drop fronts provide the illusion of a traditional drawer, with the front opening downwards to allow remote access to consoles such as DVD players or a gaming device. For further convenience, the drop-front drawers are equipped with connections for gaming consoles and controllers, creating a clutter-free environment for your media area.
Influenced by antique style, this storage credenza features four doors with a barn-like design. Adjustable shelving behind each door creates a custom appeal to the piece and allows you to fit items of different sizes with ease. Four drawers, including a single drop-front drawer, are perfect for organizing silverware and napkins when you're not using them. Plug a slow cooker or warming plate into the outlet of this credenza to keep your food warm between servings.
The Vintage West Storage Credenza with Barn-like Door Design by Hooker Furniture at Baer's Furniture in the Ft. Lauderdale, Ft. Myers, Orlando, Naples, Miami, Florida area. Product availability may vary. Contact us for the most current availability on this product.
Rustic details, elegant designs, and traditional appeal from the Vintage West collection will change the way you live at home. Dark charcoal finishes along with silver accents fit easily with most decor. Striking carved features and nailhead trim adorn bedroom pieces that will draw your eye, while also offering plenty of storage space and a sophisticated place to spend your nights. Versatile dining pieces make it easy to host an incredible dinner party full of traditional ambiance. Soft curves and turned detail can be found in many pieces for intriguing and distinct looks. Make a change in one room or completely overhaul your home's style with Vintage West.
The Vintage West collection is a great option if you are looking for Traditional furniture in the Ft. Lauderdale, Ft. Myers, Orlando, Naples, Miami, Florida area.
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Browse other items in the Vintage West collection from Baer's Furniture in the Ft. Lauderdale, Ft. Myers, Orlando, Naples, Miami, Florida area.
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