“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.”  Matthew 13:44

I have always been fascinated with this small yet powerful passage.  Something about it remotely reminds me of the visuals of some of the final scenes of Shawshank Redemption…yet much more powerful!

The message of this passage will be my passion and pursuit in 2009.  I want to pursue the King and his kingdom with all of me, and shed away everything that hinders me from being near Him.

As Christ said “all [my] heart, soul, and strength.”  This means all of me…not some sort of half hearted attempt.  Here goes!

We met up with Mark Matlock while he was in Nashville for YS.  We had a great time catching up and visioneering together about D6.  Watch the video to hear a little of why he is involved in this project.  The message that Mark will be bringing to D6 is a message that is close to his heart.  I look forward to hearing him share.  He will also be our emcee.  Enjoy!

Katie and I were watching Return of the King (Lord of the Rings III) just the other day and this scene in the movie just jumped out at me like a monkey in my closet.  I couldn’t stop thinking about it.  It owned me!

Mostly because we have tried to work diligently with our boys in trying to instill in them a sense that we do not belong here.  We belong in the Kingdom with our King.  The life we live now, although very important, is only an opportunity to prepare for our ultimate home in the Kingdom with our savior, hero, and rescuer, Jesus Christ.

Disappointments and hardships are guarantees in this life.  If we fail to teach our kids that what we are living here and now is not their home, then we are doing them a huge disservice – perhaps even giving them cause to get “caught up” in the things of this world.  Once they do face difficult times, they become disillusioned with the myth that what happens here on earth is what it’s all about.  Scripture communicates that we must live with eternity in mind. Read the rest of this entry »

What has the NFL come to?  Seriously folks, we pump these guys up with ACDC and Guns n Roses as they enter into the stadium through the tunnel filled with fog, cheerleaders and 75,000 raging fans.  We scream for them.  Yell at them.  Cheer for them.  Then, we tell them “no horse collar tackling, no helmet to helmet contact, and no props during your post-touchdown celebration?” If you think about it, it’s somewhat our fault for getting them so excited.  Then we tell them to settle down!

Now, Wes Welker of the New England Pat’s is a man who understands what’s going on.  He get’s the hint that the NFL is in an age of the kinder, gentler, player.  So, he catches a pass, works his way into the endzone, and celebrates by making a little “snow angel.”  What’s more kind and geltle than a snow angel?  You would think that, if anything, the quarterback-protectin’ officials would add some yards onto the Pat’s kick off, to reward Wes for his bold and courageous move.

But instead, a personal foul for making a snow angel? Seriously? What’s the NFL coming to?  I suppose next you are going to tell me that the Tennessee Titans have clinched home field advantage all the way through the playoff’s or something.

We recently had a friend of ours, Sean Warren take our family photos.  He did a fantastic job!  This is just a few of them.  If you would like to see more of his work, check out our photos in my photo family photo album on facebook.

Cool thing about Sean…he is in the top 2% in sales on istockphoto.com.  Out of over 30,000 contributors, he is one of the very few at the diamond level.

Thanks Sean. We will cherish these photos as long as we live to enjoy them.