So I was reading a passage tonight (which I will get to momentarily) and I realized that it had been two years ago August 3, 2006 that I posted the first entry on this blog. It was very simple, I wanted to read the Bible in a year and I needed something to help me do it. Journaling online was that “something”. It is now two years later and I have read most of the Bible (a few parts a couple of times), but I have not made it completely through. This year, now that our entire church is reading it, it looks like I will get through it all and I am so excited.
But, it was some writing from Paul that brought me back to why I began this site that inspired me to write tonight:
I came to you in weakness - timid and trembling. And my message and my preaching were very plain. Rather than using clever and persuasive speech, I relied only on the power of the Holy Spirit. I did this so you would trust not in human wisdom but in the power of God. 1 Corinthians 2:3-5 (NLT)
As not to take this literally, I claim not to compare myself to Paul or to ever preach, but this spoke to me because all I was trying to do was to break down the Word in plain words that I could grasp and share with my firends. I was moved to just do it and it has been an incredible two years. Although I have not been as regular as I would like lately, I hope that this assists me in getting on here more now.
Finally, I have to say how cool it is that God is moving some really cool pastors and teachers across the country to break it down like Paul did. It’s not about “religion”, it’s about following the Word that God left for us to follow and to challenge us to be closer to him through His son Jesus Christ. If you have the chance, there are links to the side that you can cruise to find some of these folks. Check them out and see how they are working through Him to bring others to Jesus. It’s pretty awesome. Thanks. Read on…
Not High School Musical or Camp Rock! Seriously, there has been way too much Disney Channel in this home. But, my chance to escape was with High School students enjoying the wonder of God’s Creation in the Durango, Colorado area and learning in His Word. It was awesome and I have yet to fully recover. In fact, I debated posting because I am still wiped out. It was full of activity at 12,000 feet up and I have been reflecting on how He worked on me with those students, so I have not gotten the rest that I need. And although I was able to help Greg with his posting (you can read the play by play at his blog), I didn’t have the opportunity to blog while I was there. But here is some stuff that I took away from camp:
My friend Fred and I were in charge of team building activities. We made a good team taking a couple of each to make our own and it was so cool. I really enjoyed Fred’s Blind Faith Obstacle Course and Self Control Gum activities. It was fun to work on those with him.
Speaking of which, Fred is a total Levite. Dude is strong! He could put the giant grill together in about 5 minutes and I marveled at his abilities. It was such an honor to serve along with him.
It was awesome to serve along with my daughter who was babysitting Greg’s daughter. I was so proud of her.
The students were stellar. They were digging all the messages that they were taught and got along so well. God was pouring into them and they were loving it.
I love my guys from Two Days Til Tomorrow. One of the highlights for me was when they got together in front of the condos and just started playing worship songs with a bunch of the students singing along. It was an incredible site that was made even better when a woman who was also staying there walked by and asked me, “Are you a part of this?” When I told her that I was she said, “That is so wonderful, good for you guys.” Man, was my heart filled with joy.
Finally, I got to get up in front of the group and present a couple of our team building activities and it was awesome! I hate to overuse that word “awesome”, but there is really no other word to describe it. On the day of our hike, I reminded the students how it represented our walk with Christ and how we should support each other the entire way. I dug into the book of Romans for this:
We who are strong must be consderate of those who are sensitive about things like this. We must not just please ourselves. We should help others do and build them up in the Lord. Romans 15:1-2 (NLT)
Being in the advertising business, my favorite activitiy that I got to lead was the “Commercial for God”. We gave the students up to 2 minutes to do a commercial that would sell God to somebody who had never heard about His glory and the students nailed it. They had a blast, but more importantly, they brainstormed ideas that would help them in conversations with their friends that don’t yet know Christ. Again, awesome.
And although we had a blast with the activites at the ski resort, hiking in the mountains and white river rafting, it was very spiritual and reminded me of the believers in the book of Acts:
All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer. Acts 2:42 (NLT)
God is working in me BIG TIME and I just have to thank all the students, pastors and adults that were there. I think everybody had pretty much the same take away and I makes me even more anxious for each Sunday and next summer. What a way to start the new school year. Big things are coming. I will keep you posted.
When I opened my browser tonight, I noticed a local story that grabbed my attention. The headline was “LP man to walk 750 miles in Africa to aid orphans.” I had to check it out and here was a guy that lives in my town, along with his wife, using their life savings and fund raising to build homes for orphans in Africa!
Now last time I checked, the economy is in a bit of a downturn. But yet, this is the third example that I have personally seen recently of people giving when it is the most difficult. God has been working BIG TIME to provide for those that can’t provide for themselves. It doesn’t go unnoticed. Jesus pointed out the rewards of having faith and giving when you have little:
42 One poor widow came up and put in two small coins—a measly two cents. 43 Jesus called his disciples over and said, “The truth is that this poor widow gave more to the collection than all the others put together. 44 All the others gave what they’ll never miss; she gave extravagantly what she couldn’t afford—she gave her all.” Mark 12:42-44 (MSG)
I am praying for Robert Solis, the man walking in Africa, but I have no doubt that God is with him all the way. On top of that, today I had a meeting at work about the state of our radio stations. I am blessed to work for a company that believes in giving back to the community and our News radio station recently raised $420,00 for Autism research and our Sports station raised over $200,000 for Phoenix Children’s Hospital. Now that is God working in a big way for people to give like that when it is so hard. It’s hard, but we have to give our all. That is awesome and we live in an awesome world. Thanks God.
What a vacation! It was such a joy to spend such quality time with my family. Which is why you take vacations, right? We had a blast! We even got to have Zoe the dog with us which made it even better. But, you know what happens after vacation. Work. You have to go back and no matter how much you love your job, which I do, it is an adjustment. I got back and it was a good week, which made it easier, but it was still getting back to work.
With that being said, I have been thinking about my career recently. God has put me in a great place where I am at, but I look for signs. I have been volunteering in ministry and it has been awesome. But is that where he really wants me? I see where I am at and I truly believe He wants me in the secular business place to show my love of Christ. I just keep getting that feeling from Him. It is frustrating though. It has been a while since I have not been in management or running my own business, so I know that I am capable of so much more. It is times like this that something jumps out at you in Scripture. The last couple of days have led me to 1 Chronicles and this about David:
In the past, even when Saul was king, you were the one who really led the forces of Israel. And the Lord your God told you, ‘You will be the shepherd of my people Israel. You will be the leader of my people Israel.’” 1 Chronicles 11:2 (NLT)
David was doing all this work and the people were taking notice. Even though Saul was the king, the people were led to David. So when I read this it just jumped out. Just because I am not in management right now, I might be making a difference with the people I am around and God is working where I can’t immediately see to pave the way so that I can shine an even greater light on His Glory.
We see it so much in the Bible where God tests our patience. Can you imagine being Moses and waiting 40 years? Jonah spent 3 days in the belly of whale praying that he wouldn’t be digested! Waiting a few months for things to change at work really shouldn’t be that difficult. But it is. Thankfully I have these examples and many others to look to. That is how I can really shine the light on His Glory. Who said this isn’t practical?
It constantly amazes me where life takes you and then how God brings you Scripture that assists you in all of these situations. Case in point: our family is on vacation because my loving mother-in-law and her husband, who live in a beach community on the California coast, went on vacation and let us enjoy their home while they are away. It is a wonderful home that has a private beach with a club that is operated by a five star hotel across the highway.
My In-Laws are hard working people who have been fantastic stewards so that they can live in this community. But visiting is always fascinating to me because we see how those that have an overabundance of money live their lives. We were blessed tonight with the opportunity to enjoy the club here and it was there that I got to observe a few of our fellow patrons who had comments like, “We have been members of the club for 15 years and I need 12 drinks now” and “I don’t have my club card, but we live in house #1!”. I got a chuckle from it all and then I came home and read:
The rich think of their wealth as a strong defense; they imagine it to be a high wall of safety. Haughtiness goes before destruction; humility precedes honor. Proverbs 18:11-12 (NLT)
When you are blessed with the chance to be in an area of affluence and see the beauty that God has created, it is very easy for your mind to start drifting towards a life of overabundance and how it might be better if you were in that position. But, then you see what it can do and you remember where God has you in life.
So for those of you screaming at your computer right now, please allow me to clarify a few things for you:
I am not saying that it is evil to have money or stuff. It just does not entitle you to anything! Everything that we have is God’s and if you have a bunch of it, He has entrusted you with it. Don’t be a jerk. Live the life of the servant that you are and it is all good.
I am totally blessed with everything that I have and I enjoy reminders of this.
I pray that folks who take advantage of these situations might see that if they, heaven forbid, made a modest meal at home once a month and saved the hundreds of dollars that they might spend at the club, they could feed somebody in this world with nothing for a month.
Being a good steward is really, really difficult. When we work hard and receive money for our work, doing what is right in God’s eyes with it is probably one of the biggest challenges we face. I’m working on it…
You know, if weren’t so difficult, you probably wouldn’t have people storm out of churches and services when the pastor teaches on it! For all of us, we just have to continue to look to the Word and let him guide us in not only stewardship, but all the things that we find really, really difficult. Good luck…
As Christians, we’ve all had the conversation with other Christians. It is the “my Church is better than your Church” conversation. Now, we would never say that, but it begins as, “This weekend was incredible at my Church. Pastor Soandso said…”. At which point, your friend says, “Well, my Church was even more incredible…”. The fact is, we are all one Church and that is why I was so excited when I found out about the One Prayer series.
Now that we are half way through the One Prayer series, I thought it might be finally time to write about it. Actually, I knew this series was coming a month before it did and I wanted to blog about it then, but teachiing and summer got a hold of me and I was unable to. It is incredible to participate in this with Palm Valley Church, along with so many other churches around the world. I can’t explain it as well as Craig Groeschel:
All of which leads me to this: In my Daily Read a couple of days ago, I came upon Acts 10 and 11, where Peter is summoned to Caesarea where the Holy Spirit comes upon the Gentiles, whom the Jews believe should not be a part of this new church. When Peter arrives back in Jerusalem, he’s getting the business from the Jewish believers and he responds with the best comeback ever:
“And since God gave these Gentiles the same gift he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to stand in God’s way?” Acts 11:17 (NLT)
Yep, we’re all in this together folks. This series and movement is incredible. Building churches in other nations, uniting established churches around the world and learning from other great teachers from around the country. Now this is God-sized vision and it is fun to be along for it all. It is awesome to, as the One Prayer website explains it, “Refocus our understanding of the Church as a body of believers instead of a physical location.”
I wasn’t sure if I wanted to post it, but in the end, I thought that some of my family from out of town might want to see it. Now understand, I have a little pipsqueek video camera that was at the back of this room and I don’t think it was made for this type of thing. Perhaps if I had zoomed in more, you might be able to see my facial features, but I doubt it. So here you have it, my first lesson:
So there you have it. If you made it through at least one minute of it, I congratulate you. It is pretty hard to watch because of the quality, but I appreciate the effort. It has peaked my interest in video though. We need to get a better camera! Thanks for everybody’s support!
Growing up in the Prielipp household, there are a couple of things that stand out. Working hard is first and foremost, but I also grew up watching NBC News. Whether it was local or national, we usually had it on Channel 4, which grew my other fascination to find a career in media, the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, because the TV stayed on that channel. There were no remote controls! The last time I put anything on the Internet about a media personality was at Johnny’s death, but today I am posting about any even bigger influence on my adult life, Tim Russert. Today, God took him home at age 58 and I realized the impact that he has had on my life, but not just because he was on television.
This past weekend, I had the privledge of teaching the students at Palm Valley Church about the gifts that God gives us and how we can use and share them with others. Sometimes when we are growing up, our gifts are not the same as our family’s and that can be challenging, yet rewarding. The calling to go into media is one of those. In the tributes that I have seen, Tim Russert seems to have followed this path. He got a law degree and he then went into media! What was he thinking! Yet, he became a person who worked really hard that we could trust and learn from on TV. It is rare and he will be missed.
But what I have gotten out of today’s tributes the most was his faith. Everybody that has been interviewed has mentioned his faith and love for his family. In fact, they have probably mentioned that more than anything. How great is that, that NEWS PEOPLE have been praising his faith! Let me tell you, this is a big step for people who for the most part need to see to believe. But he lived it and everybody saw it. In fact, I heard on FOX News that he had just gotten off a flight from Rome and the Vatican before he passed. He had been following his faith right before his was taken Home.
It’s God’s plan, not ours and we need to live it everyday, even if you are in the media! It is all about living the faith while we are here because we never know when we won’t have the chance to show it any more. Thank you Tim Russert for reminding me that I can live my faith and pass it on to others, even in the media. Rest in Peace my friend and thanks for teaching me a lot about this great place that we live in.
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. Ephisians 2:8-9 (NKJV)
I had to title the post that as there a couple of pastor blogs (obviously Greg, but there are others) that always use that when posting on Sunday night or Monday morning. Not that I am in their class, but since I taught the Middle School & High School services this weekend, I thought it would be fun:
The next time you even think about criticizing your Pastor’s message, think again. It is HARD! It definitely gives you a new perspective when you are standing in front of that church body looking up at you waiting to spiritually fed. So give that Pastor a pat on the back after church, not a piece of your mind!
I had a blast because it was huge challenge. I have this demented view of loving things that are difficult and this ranks up there. As you know, Dirty Jobs is one of my favorite TV shows and this experience was a lot like that. Not that it was dirty, but that I got to do something that somebody else usually does and enjoy it for a day (or two).
Despite having spoken in front of hundreds of people before, I was a little anxious on Saturday night. Wore off by the end of the service, but started off a bit rough. Go figure.
Our church staff is amazing! With Darius and Christina in Nevada for the high school Go Mission Trip, it was me, Jeremiah and his loving bride-to-be Amber for most of the weekend with sound, band, game and teaching. I can’t thank Jeremiah and Amber enough for helping me through it all.
My daughters are the best! They ended up at church for all 5 services as well, helping me out and serving in the nursery. They are totally incredible and thank God for them and my beautiful wife everyday.
I mentioned the Go Mission Trip and if you want to see God at work, read their blog.
My friend Pete is the most incredible musician I have ever witnessed and that is saying a lot since I have worked on some huge concerts and music festivals. He played guitar in the main service, did a song Saturday night on the harmonica and then ran over to the students service to play drums. I like to call it “Pete’s Wheel o’ Instruments”. Spin the wheel and see what he plays! More cowbell…
D-Lo is on a Twitter kick. He is recruiting everybody! Maybe I will give it a shot…
Greg was on fire this weekend. Since I was teaching, I had to attend the Saturday night service, so I think he picked up steam by Sunday. I think the services were overlapping! But seriously, we are starting the One Prayer series and he kicked it off by really challenging us. It was great! I will have more on One Prayer tomorrow.
Thanks to Sean for his support over the weekend. Sorry you were unable to get over, seeing as you were chained to the sound board and all…
I guess that’s about it for now. It was an awesome weekend and I loved teaching and pouring into kids. I got some reactions from the students and the feedback has been positive, so it was a pretty blessed couple of days. I am going to try and have a bit more in the next couple of days. The killer verse for the weekend was:
For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:10 (NIV)
Thanks again to everybody for all the encouragement. Have a great day.
Recently, after 13 years of the same television, we were able to upgrade to a HDTV. Being that we are home bodies, this is pretty much our entertainment budget. And with our cable service, just about every other HD channel belongs to the Discovery Network and our entire family have become HUGE fans of the Discovery Channel. Over the weekend, I watched this promo and it moves me. Watch:
First, that is how I would feel if I were able to look down on the earth like astronauts. The world is awesome and God made it all in one breath. That is even more awesome. But what I love about this is the human spirit and passion that it shows in interacting with His creation. They captured it perfectly. The world is awesome because He made it and we get to enjoy it while we are here. Not just the big things, but the little things. Even the Dirty Jobs! Thanks God.
August 5, 2008 
Posted in Daily Read 
1 Comment » 
For all of us, we just have to continue to look to the Word and let him guide us in not only stewardship, but all the things that we find really, really difficult. Good luck…
Growing up in the Prielipp household, there are a couple of things that stand out. Working hard is first and foremost, but I also grew up watching NBC News. Whether it was local or national, we usually had it on Channel 4, which grew my other fascination to find a career in media, the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, because the TV stayed on that channel. There were no remote controls! The last time I put anything on the Internet about a media personality was at Johnny’s death, but today I am posting about any even bigger influence on my adult life, Tim Russert. Today, God took him home at age 58 and I realized the impact that he has had on my life, but not just because he was on television.
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