Sunday Night Reflections

A Few Thoughts from an Amazing Day...

• Preached at FCC Cocoa Beach this morning. Continuing the series,, "I'm dreaming of a RIGHT Christmas"
• To have a right Christmas one must have a right pace.
• Key Thought#1, are we so busy doing Christmas we forget to celebrate Christmas?
• Key Thought #2,  The Christmas season is a constant reminder God is faithful to keep his promises. 
• Once again, I met some friends from a previous ministry this morning, it truly is a small world.
• If I could describe Christmas with only one word it would be JOY!
• I know how the movie ends, but every year I must watch "It is a Wonderful Life" at least once during the Christmas season. 
• I received a pleasant surprise today as I was able to have lunch with brother and his wife. Good Times.
• We had a wonderful night at JUFL's Night of Noel. Great crowd and it was good to see so many friends of the college. 
• I am very appreciative of all the hard work our faculty, staff, and students did to make Night of Noel a success. We could not have accomplished such a wonderful day without you!
• I think some people are hoarding the Oreo White Fudge Covered Cookies, I am having a difficult time finding them in stores this year. Not a good thing.
• This week JUFL students have finals, Let the "Cramming" begin!
• Hey teacher friends, hang in there only five more days!
• Something to Chew on; The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means God with us. Matthew 1:23, This Christmas let that verse bring you JOY!

Sunday Night Reflections

A Few Thoughts from an Amazing Day...

• Preached at First Christian Church of Cocoa Beach this morning.
• Kicked off the Christmas season with a message entitled, "I am dreaming of a RIGHT Christmas" 
• Key thought #1, If we are going to have a right Christmas we must have the right focus.
• Key thought #2, It is too bad we do not have auto-focus when it comes to Christmas, many of us need to refocus if we are going celebrate Christmas in a proper way.
• From this week's Luke 24 challenge; They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him off the cliff. But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way. Luke 4:29-30. I don't recall ever hearing a message on this passage.
• A quick visit to Jacksonville to visit my mom. She sent me home with lots of Christmas cookies, yes, it is the most wonderful time of the year!
• There are times when our small group goes in an unexpected direction, last week was one of those times!
• Next Saturday is our annual Night of Noel at JUFL, it looks to be a wonderful night.
• To my Osceola County friends, why can't we finish Hwy 192? PAVE THE ROAD!
• Orange Bowl Bound!
• People are freaking out over an exercise bike commercial, what scares me is the KFC commercial with the Colonel and Mrs. Butterworth! 
• Something to Chew on; She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus because he will save his people from their sins.” ~ Gabriel, Matthew 1:21

Sunday Night Reflections

A Few thoughts from an Amazing Day...

• Preached at the Christian Church of Deleon Springs this morning.
• Key thought from this morning's message, Wisdom is seeing life through God's perspective.
• Key thought #2, When faced with problems in this life, we can either choose to be better or we can become bitter, I choose to be better.
• Great time reconnecting with several friends.
• One of our JUFL students led worship today and did a wonderful job! Thanks, Will!
• I am taking the Luke 24 Challenge this Christmas, I will be using the English Standard Version for my readings.
• What is the Luke 24 Challenge? The book of Luke has 24 chapters. Join me over the next 24 days by reading a chapter a day and on Christmas morning we will have a much better understanding of what this season is all about!
• Spent Thursday in Orange Park with my mom and two brothers for Thanksgiving, Good times!
• No kids table this year!
• My mom is an old school cook! No recipes, just a pinch of this and a dash of that and before you know it, we have a fabulous Thanksgiving dinner!  
• With the rise of online shopping will Black Friday one day go the way of Blockbuster video stores?
• Now that the regular season of college football is coming to a close it will not be long until the college bowl season is upon us!
• There are only a few weeks left in this semester, looks like the campus library is getting a little more traffic lately.
• Something to Chew on; If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, become more, you are a leader. ~ John Quincy Adams

Sunday Night Reflections

A Few Thoughts from an Amazing Day...

• Preached at First Christian Church of Cocoa Beach this morning.
• A very gracious congregation, it is evident grace is a part of the DNA of the congregation.
• I have visited 167 churches as Director of Advancement for JUFL; I can say the variety of church experiences around the state reminds me there is no one way to "do church."
• FCC Cocoa Beach is truly playing to their strengths.
• A special bonus about visiting the coast today, I was able to have lunch with my oldest son and his family, Good times!
• I was also able to see a good friend today as well, so good to see you, Dave! 
• I attended a breakfast Saturday at JUFL to explore how diversity is impacting the church today. To be on the "ground floor" of this venture is exciting. 
• I had to visit the Genius Bar at the Apple store today, and yes are geniuses, I feel like I have a new computer.
• In one month it will be Christmas eve.
• But before we focus on Christmas, Let's remember Thursday is a to be a day of thanks for all of our many blessings.
• What do you mean we there are only a few days left to the regular college football season. 
• To my teacher friends, I hope you have a great break this week, you deserve it!  
• Something to Chew on; We must find time to stop and thank the people who make a difference in our lives. ~ John F. Kennedy

Sunday Night Reflections

A Few Thoughts from an Amazing Day...

• I preached at Southwest Christian Church in Ocala this morning on the topic of grace.
• The key point from the message, God always recognizes people of grace not by their words but by their actions.
• There is something comforting about old hymns, music truly is the language of the heart.
• Watched a man in a wheelchair serving the congregation communion this morning, what is holding you back from serving others?
• I also gave a University Update to a combined Bible School class this morning. There is something special about sharing our story with people unfamiliar with JUFL.
• Rekindled a friendship with a college classmate today, it is so hard to imagine we have known each other for over 40 years.
• Savannah turned 7 this week, time goes by so fast!
• I do not like the ending of daylight savings time, dark at 5:30 p.m., who thought that was a good idea? 
• Sometimes you just want a good doughnut! 
• School teachers are superheroes and by the way, they do not need capes or superpowers! 
• I visited my teenage home today, I wish I could say it was a pleasant experience, unfortunately, the neighborhood has changed and not for the better. Sad to see what has happened to the house my dad built.
• Wawa hot chocolate really hits the spot!
• Something to Chew on; He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has. ~ Epictetus

Sunday Night Reflections

A Few Thoughts from an Amazing Day...

• Worshiped at Vero Christian Church this morning.
• Steve did a great job speaking on the subject of an ordinary day with an extraordinary God.
• Key thought from the message; Irritations can reveal our character, but we should use the irritations to experience the grace of God when we look to Him. 
• Communion thought; Forgiveness always has a price! May we never forget the price that was paid for our redemption. 
• I left Kissimmee this morning at 5:50, but God allowed me to see a wonderful sunrise, well worth the early morning drive! His use of colors is amazing.
• Just in case you are curious, there are no traffic jams at 5:50 in the morning 
• My annual visit to Vero Christian was encouraging, they are great friends of JUFL and it is always good to see what God is doing through the ministry of VCC.
• Celebrated my oldest son's birthday this weekend, how can he be 39 years old? I guess I blinked!
• The fins have a 2 games win streak, should I begin looking for playoff tickets?
• Question; How can you blow out a team by 56 points and drop in the polls?
• 28 of our students are traveling to Kansas City this week for the International Conference on Missions. Praying for safety as well as open hearts and minds as they seek mission opportunities.
• Tomorrow is Veterans Day, I want to thank my dad, his brothers and my brother for their service to our country. SALUTE!
• Something to Chew on; Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few. ~ Winston Churchill, 1940

Sunday Night Reflections

A Few Thoughts from an Amazing Day...

• Worshiped at Kissimmee Christian Church this morning.
• I witnessed the baptismal waters stir once again, this never gets old.
• The morning message focused on Gratitude from the small Old Testament book of Habakkuk.
• To recapture a spirit of gratitude one needs to focus on two "R's" Remember and Rejoice. Remember what God has done for you and Rejoice that he remains faithful in His love toward us.
• A second message I heard today focused on the life of Jonah. 
• The key point of the message, Jonah knew the heart of God, but he did not have the heart of God. 
• In our preaching, we must remember the goal is not information, but transformation! Keep that in mind and our preaching will be powerful.
• A friend sent me a picture of the white chocolate Oreos this past weekend - yes it is the most wonderful time of the year.
• Breaking News, The FINS won today, and it was not on local TV. Why?
• I watched the lighting of Cinderella's castle at WDW tonight via Lifestream tonight - I am making it a point to see it live during the Christmas season. 
• No one does the holidays like Disney!
• Oh no, only three weeks left in the college football season.
• 5:45 and it is dark!
• Something to Chew on; It is hard to convince people that a God they cannot see loves them when a church they can see does not seem to like them. ~ John Allen Turner