If I knew ahead of time that I had only on last supper I would want it to be at a Brazillian Steakhouse. I have always wanted to go to one of these but have never got around to it. Last night I joined a few friends to take the plunge and I must say it was salivating. The portions just kept coming. They give you a coaster with a red side and a green side. Green side means keep it coming and the red side means I need to rest. It was amazing. I had 3 Brazillian sausage, 4 filet mignon, 2 garlic marinated sirloins, 1 piece of flank steak, 2 portions of rib eye, 1 portion of bbq pork, and 1 portion of chicken parmesan. The best thing is, I did not walk away feeling sick. It was perfect!! It took on a whole new meaning of the red light green light game I played as a child:) Can't wait to go again, I scored another 50% off coupon so I can take Shelly:)

Shelly and I have hosted a small group at our home this summer every Wednesday. The focus of the group has been to bring different cultures and languages together, especially the deaf and hearing communities. It has been awesome. Lots of people each week with lots of stories and great studies. Each week we have done a theme for food like- italian, favorite cereal, dip night and more. This week we had Japanese night and Sara and Wendy prepared some sushi. I was thinking cool, maybe they will make a few rolls and we can all have one or two. Yeah right!! To our surprise they walked in with a humungous tray with up to 100 rolls of sushi. We all stood there in shock and didn't want to touch the masterpiece. It literally took us a few minutes to dig in. It was awesome!!! Thanks gals. 

I love it when God gives the opportunity to share life with people. This year provided a great opportunity to share life with a few people for Shelly and I. During this entire year as missionaries we have partnered with a few investors to make life happen for us. It has been such an amazing experience. I would not have traded it for anything. The people we have connected with are amazing and we are forever grateful to them. This week I had the opportunity to sit down with one of them for a dinner and a tour of our facilities. It was so energizing to hear about family updates and what God is doing in their hearts and lives. It feels great to be a part of family that expands beyond those that live in your home. Its such a joy to be able to share life with others and join in on their journey with Christ. What a cool perk that God gives us. Enjoy the journey today and take time to invest in someone else's journey as well!!

I love the days that can maximized for getting things done around the job, but I also love the days that can be maximized for a little, or a lot, of R & R. I think this is just as important as being productive on the job. We have to be productive on our days off and play, play, play or rest, rest, rest. Monday I had an ortho appt. at the beach so we decided to use the appt to maximize the day. We hit the appt. then went to the beach for a few hours then got a bushel of crabs, hung out with the family, had brownies, and played Tiger Woods on xbox. Nice! It was a great day off. Then we woke up and came back to the city! I am a firm believer that you will make time for what is important to you. Everyone has the same amount of time in the day. It is all about how you use. If you really want to do that thing or see that person you will because you will find a way to make time for it. So maximize your day and do what it important. See your family, take a nap, have dinner with your neighbors or friends, read a book. Whatever you do, be sure to Maximize it!

It is understood that our digestive track is of upmost importance to our daily lives and our future. Through the process of digestion our body receives its proper nutrients for survival. What am i getting at? I think in the same way it is important for us to digest the information we get each day whether that be through conversations with our colleges, to reading books, to important meetings, to conferences and seminars and so on. There is a big difference when you come home after a conference and read your notes and think of different ways to apply what you have learned that just going to a conference never writing anything down and never thinking about what was said after you return home. Digesting information is important to our growth and success as leaders or whatever role we find ourselves in. So...at the end of this week I am going to have to stay in digestion mode. I had some great opportunities to connect with some great people this week and I don't want to miss it. From connecting with a dozen methodist pastors and discussing different ways of rethinking church, to connecting with a Deaf Missionary and discussing how to better serve and mobilize the Deaf Community here in DC, to connecting with renown author Dallas Willard and discussing the progression of the modern university and how it relates to faith, to meeting with a Pastor from Ethiopia and discussing ways to infiltrate our communities with love and hope, locally and globally.  Shewwee, I need to digest. Don't miss the opportunity this week to digest and stop and think about what you are doing, what information you are receiving, and how you can apply what God is teaching you. It will change your life as far as you know it.

A few years ago I had a paradigm shift that totally changed my philosophy of ministry and my life in its entirety. I think in everyone of us there is a huge tension of wanting to be noticed by society. We want to make an impression on someone whether good or bad. This notion of wanting to be noticed sometimes drives our relationship with God as well. We will go to great lengths to do, do, do to try and impress others and perhaps God. We think that if we do this and do that and become a member of that then God will notice us and deem us worthy. I felt like this myself and still have to be aware of it in my life. Especially as a guy, we want to be noticed that we are strong leaders and important people. So we never say no to opportunities and we sign up to be a part of every board and program there is. Somehow this gives us a sense of status or importance. But in the end it becomes our downfall because when we are out doing, doing, doing, we are never there, there, there for what is most important ( _______) you fill in the blank. God is so much more concerned about who we are becoming than what we are doing or where we are going. Its not so much do, do , do but be, be, be. God created you and He knows the true you. He loves you for who you are. You were created in His image. It's not about what you can do for God, it's al about who you are for God. He notices you behind the scenes and in the nominal things of life. You don't have to parade yourself around and spend your days trying to be noticed by God and by those around you. Do you remember when Jesus noticed Nathaniel? What was he doing?

This weekend my mother and little brother came to visit. We had a blast hitting up all the parks, markets, and monuments. On this particular day I noticed something, or someone, a number of times throughout the day. You know how for no reason one day you will see the same car over and over and over again. Anyway! It was Lincoln. As we were driving around I saw his name or his picture everywhere. Then, when we went to the Lincoln Memorial and even though I have seen it many times, I had this thought. It is so amazing to me that one guy can have such an impact on history. It has been years and years and we are still reading about him and will forever see his enormous figure at the memorial. The ironic thing is that while he was living, he was not as honored for his efforts as he is now. I wonder if he ever thought he would have such a lasting impact on the U.S. as a whole when he was living out his daily life? Maybe he did. Maybe he didn't. I don't know about you, but that inspires me. Every single day is an opportunity to write history in your live and possibly in the lives of the people around you. Did you know how important you life is? How much of a gift it is? What are you doing to make a difference in the world around you? We may not ever read about you in the history books or see your statue at the nation's capitol, but your life can still have a lasting impact on someone's life. For instance, if you ask anyone around you who has had the most influence on their live to date I bet you that you would have no idea who that person was if they named them. Do you read me? That person could be you. You can make a difference as a teacher, beautician, trash collector, tax collector, business owner, graphic designer, mother, father, brother, sister, etc. Every breathe is an opportunity to make a difference. Don't waste it. Leave a legacy worth reading about!! 

Reading Jim Collins, How the Might Fall. Its all about how we can track our status as companies and see where we are in decline before its too late. The tricky thing is, we can already be on the road to decline while we are on on the uphill road to success. There is a lot of good statistical and case study work in the book. I came across a quote in the book about Robert Galvin of Motorola. Motorola is a company that has seen its ups and downs. Currently it is making the trek back up after a huge decline. However, Galvin learned while enduring the history of Motorola that, "it's far better to create your own future repeatedly, than to wait for external forces to dictate your choices." Translation, be on the offense. Playing offense is what creates wins and keeps you in the game. Are you progressing in your life's accomplishments? Is your life bigger and better than it was last year? If not, it is probably because you have been playing defense instead of offense. One of the things I like to do to help me stay on offense is to keep a yearly covenant or goal list. Shelly and I wrote down goals in four different areas (physical, spiritual, financial, & travel) back in December. We will look over it again this month to assess our progress and make changes as needed. Again, this helps with playing offense in our lives instead of waiting around for our circumstances to create us or define who we become. Maybe today you can make a 6 month goal list for the rest of the year? Whatever you do, get on the offense and take initiative in living your life full of success!

You have heard the term "walk it off" or "work it out". When it comes to prayer, how about "walk it out". Our small group series this week is about the Power of Prayer. We are going to do a prayer experiment/experience and walk around our community and ask God to give us the land. He said it to Joshua so why not join in the fun. Believe for God's promise today. Walk It Out!

Sorry for the inconvenience. The blog site is going through some technical html difficulties we should be up and running very quickly and hopefully with the same look or an even better one!

Here is a list of books that I am currently reading. I like to keep 3 categories on the dock at all times- biography, marketing, leadership. These are all of course second to the Bible. Check them out if you are interested. These are great reads:

Every year NCC has a play and pray retreat. Pastor Mark takes everyone out to some place to have fun and pray together. This was mine and Shelly's first trip with the team. We had so much fun. We went to Osprey Point right near St Michael's. What a beautiful place. We kayaked, canoed, played corn hole, lacrosse, football, beach volleyball, ate lots of food, and prayed. This was definitely a highlight. It is so awesome to be a part of such a great team. There is so much moral here as a team its erie. Our number one priority (apart from God of course) is family and fun. Everything else flows from that. We had so much fun goofing and spending time together. It felt like a huge family vacation. One day we played beach volleyball for hours. I am still sore today from it:) 

Last week I spent a day on Capitol Hill. Had the opportunity to connect with Congressman Joe Pitts from PA to discuss our progression in faith-based initiatives and international relations. I was so inspired by Mr. Pitts' relational philosophy of politics/influence. Overall great guy and great respect for him. After our meeting I took a tour of the Capitol building. I am ashamed to say that it was my first time ever inside the Capitol. It was pretty cool. Lots of history, paintings, sculptures, and stone. My favorite part was sitting in the House Chamber while they were voting on a bill. I think it found it so neat because that it where they have the State of the Union Address. It is always cool to walk into a place that you have only seen on TV before. This was a great day. Made some awesome connections and felt very inspired to continue our efforts in international relations here at NCC. This week, Shell and I will get a behind the scenes tour of the White House.