How I almost Lost My Little Toe
People have asked me about this particular story. Just in case you didn’t hear it, here is the link to the message where I told the story.
By the way, I will not be blogging for the next 7-10 days….taking some time off.
Talking to God
Ever wonder if God hears you? Does he listen, care, or answer?
Here’s a pretty good blog I found that may answer some of these questions:
http://www.facebook.com/reqs.php#/notes/the-resurgence/prayer-6-tips-for-talking-to-god/316890472845
A Global Statement to Haiti
Last weekend, the nation of Haiti was discussed in churches all over the world. From prayers to financial contributions, churches are coming together to make a statement that will be heard around the world for ages to come.
Haiti is a nation plagued by diverse issues. With a population of 8 million, most of whom are living on less than one dollar per day, Haiti is considered to be the most poverty-stricken country in the Western Hemisphere. In addition to its high unemployment rate (80 percent), the country is also plagued by food shortages, poor drinking water, lack of education, environmental concerns and shifting culture. Adding to Haiti’s misery is the devastation caused by the strongest earthquake in more than two centuries that rocked the nation’s capital, Port-au-Prince, located just 10 miles northwest of the earthquake’s epicenter. (source: Huffington Post)
I believe that we, not just as a church but also as a nation have this one opportunity in time to make a statement of care and generosity to a nation that needs it most. If we choose to hesitate or do nothing, then we will miss our opportunity to make a global statement of what the church is called to be in this world.
My challenge to you is to act. Give to your church or to other organizations that are sending resources to Haiti. Here is a link to some organizations that are accepting donations: http://www.thehousefm.com/thehouse.asp?ID=HaitiHelp&s=0&b=1
My hope and prayer is that we all do something to make a global statement.
Pray for the people in Haiti:
A devastating blow to a country. Warning, some of these images are graphic
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34833017/ns/news-picture_stories/displaymode/1247/?beginSlide=1
Faithco –this past weekend
Yesterday, after our third and final worship experience for this past weekend, I thought of all that had transpired. God is blessing our church in so many ways and I am so proud of what is happening in our church community.
Here are some of my thoughts concerning this past weekend’s worship at Faithco.
1. At least 5 people made decisions to follow Christ. This is something that never gets old. To me, it is a miracle when a person I have never seen or met walks in our doors and is convicted by the Holy spirit to change. Then, raises his hand to pray a prayer to give his life to Christ. It is definitely a work of God
2. The message of Abraham and Lot ministered to so many. The feedback from all who spoke to me after the message as well as all those who commented on facebook confirmed that I wasn’t the only one who needed this message.
3. We are growing. Last weekends total attendance in all three worship experiences was 535. We were over capacity in our 11:00 service. What a blessing to be part of a healthy growing church.
I think we are on the right track. I pray that God continues us to reach our community.
Thanks for serving with us.
Live an Illustrated Life
This past weekend, I was reminded of the impact a simple illustration can have on a group of people. The message was part of a series called “The Journey” and it was subtitled “Traveling Light” .
If you like, you can check it out here: http://www.faithco.org
I talked about how each major experience of life can give us baggage, and that we can choose to carry or to let go of this baggage.
To illustrate my point, I strapped a bunch of luggage all over me as to show what we might look like if we could see all the life baggage we carry.
I thought it was a simple straight forward message, but nothing too grand. Boy was I wrong. I could not believe all the comments and facebook replies from all the people who were impacted by the message. I actually had a gentleman in his eighties walk up to me after the worship and tell me “that was the most insightful messages I had ever heard”. Wow! I guess as a pastor it is easy to forget the impact of illustrating God’s word.
What if our every day lives illustrated God’s word? Who would be impacted? What would the ripple effect produce around us?
I challenge you today to be a walking illustration of Christ and His words.
Oral Roberts -thoughts and memories
Yesterday, we lost a good man.
I remember watching Oral Roberts on television when I was a kid. It seemed that most of the time, he talked about faith. As I recall, we were watching him before there was even Christian television. I’ve read how he was one of the first television evangelists and how he was a pioneer for television ministry.
I realize that there has been some criticism and speculation following his ministry throughout the years. I can’t imagine anyone (especially ministers) being in the public eye not suffering criticism. However, I believe his integrity was always in tact and his life was lived with passion to see God’s kingdom fulfilled.
For what it is worth, every time I think I have done something big, I think of Oral Roberts University and what an incredible mark he left on this earth for the cause of Christ.
Home for Christmas (part 2)
Back to our discussion on going home for Christmas:
Last week, I asked you where “home” was for you. How would you feel if I told you that you were going there this Christmas.
Home should give us warm feelings as we think of all the good memories we have.
Why don’t you go home? What keeps you away? Do you get a nervous feeling in the pit of your stomach when I mention going home?
Are there people who once were a part of your life back at home who need to be forgiven, confronted, loved, or even apologized to?
Remember, relational things left undone, will leave wounds in a heart.
So this year, at some time go home…even if it is only in your mind. Search deep within your heart and find what needs to be addressed. Then, go home. Find those people who you need to talk to and say what needs to be said.
Go home.
Making Christmas Brighter (Shawnee Outlook article)
Our Bikes for Kids Outreach event is growing with momentum. Shawnee’s main publication, the Shawnee Outlook posted a great article in this month’s edition. Check it out, its a good article:
One Cold Black Friday –a short story by Travis Hurst
One Cold Black Friday –a short story by Travis Hurst
It was a dreary Thanksgiving night; the year was 2004, I was reading a Wal-Mart flyer for the next day’s Black Friday sale.
Among all the items on sale, were DVD players for $29 and trampolines for $120 …but only while supplies last. It just so happened that I needed both.
“The doors open at 6:00am so you’d better get here early” the flyer proclaimed as to give us a secret warning.
“Hey Deana, I’ve got a great idea, let’s get there a little before 6:00am to make sure we miss the crowds” I said with complete confidence in my strategic thinking.
So we rose at 4:30am sharp, had some breakfast, and scurried off into town to conquer and to claim gifts for our children.
When we pulled up into the Wal-Mart parking lot at 5:50am, to our astonishment it was already jam packed. When we walked in the store, we could see there were lines forming all over the store for these “good deals”. Looking around, I quickly found the trampolines so I instructed Deana to stand post right next to ours until I returned with the DVD player and a shopping cart.
The next part of my story is a little fuzzy but I will tell it as best as I can remember.
Suddenly, someone wearing a blue vest standing on a ladder with a hand held megaphone announced: “We are now open!” And in that moment, all hell broke loose.
It was an angry mob scene. People were crowding in, pushing, shoving, gouging, and yelling unspeakable things. Dogs were barking; children were crying. There was mayhem on every side. To my left were two women fighting over five dollar blankets; to my right, people were snatching pillows out of a wooden bin, I think someone got hit in the head by one. Shelves were emptying as fast as I could see. In vain I sought for what I came there to buy.
Suddenly, there they were: right in front of me the $29 DVD players I had come to buy; however, I couldn’t get to them because of the crowd. So I watched, stood there helplessly as the few fortunate folks one by one snatched the limited supply of boxed DVD players off the shelves.
I feared I would be left out. I had to just go for it. So with a forceful thrust, I broke through and rushed in to claim one of the DVD players but alas, I was knocked down and nearly trampled. As I was fighting for what seemed to be my very life, I was able to grab one of the last DVD players on my way down and hug it safely and securely while laying in the fetal position on the floor.
I remembered how comforting the cool tile floor felt against my left cheek. I was tempted to touch my tongue to the cool tile floor but feared it to would be trampled also. So I just laid there and waited confidently because I was victorious!
When the crowd finally cleared, I hugged my prize all the way back to the cart. As I returned to Deana we embraced thankfully for my safe return. But now, it was time to make our way to the cash register without losing what we had worked so hard to obtain. We felt the jealous eyes of those all around who were less fortunate –the late comers who, because of an extra 10 minutes of slumber, would walk the aisles with empty shopping carts looking to snatch from the successful like me.
Soon we found that we were standing in a line that ended at the back of the store. We waited in line for almost 2 hours.
The ride back home was a silent one. We thought of how things transpired, how things got out of hand, and how close I came to being seriously injured. Was it worth it? Just how much money was saved on that cold Black Friday. Total savings: about $40-45 bucks.
I haven’t been to a Black Friday sale since.
Travis Hurst