Making Your Bed

In our sermon series entitled PAIN, we had a special guest - a Green Beret - come and share his experiences of training and serving our country as a part of an elite Special Forces groups.  Discussing the training and the demands placed upon them, Green Beret's (and all Special Forces groups for that matter) must develop a "no quit" attitude.  This attitude is intricate in survival and the survival of your team.  In our conversation, Mr. Mercer mentioned a commencement speech given in 2014 by Admiral William H. McRaven.  In his commencement address to the graduates of the University of Texas, Admiral McRaven illustrates the importance of making your bed.

"Making your bed means you have accomplished the first task of the day successfully…” Admiral McRaven says, "…and doing the first thing successfully means that there are many more success to come."  The point that Admiral McRaven was making is that we must do the little things right in order to have success at the big things.  We must work just as hard at the little things as we do at the big things if we expect success.  The little things develop the determination to do everything correctly.

As Christians, if we expect to make a difference for God, we must prepare ourselves for the opportunities to share the Gospel, be disciple makers, and be the hands and feet of Christ in our community, state, and world.  And this is only possible if we do the little things; that in turn, prepare us to do the big things.  One example is reading your Bibles regularly and storing the word of God in your heart (Psalm 119:11).  In this individual task, we are equipping ourselves for the conversations that God will orchestrate.

But even further than that, we are developing a strong foundation of love for God and a trust in Him that will not be shaken in the darkest and most difficult times of life.  In those moments - with proper preparation - we will overcome the tasks before us with God leading the way.

Admiral McRaven provided a great illustration for us to live by.  If you would like to hear the speech in its entirety, click here.

So in closing, make your bed...after you have spent time with God.

Another Lesson Learned

As a child, I remember my legs hurting from time-to-time and my mom would explain to me that the discomfort was caused by growing pains.  The skin and muscles were stretching as the bones grew.  With this only being temporary pain, it was something I did not forget.  After fifteen years of ministry, there are many things that have stretched my soul and emotions that I would explain as growing pains.

Now, every minister has experienced painful encounters in the church as a result of ministering; however, I would like to share some personal growing pains.  Growth is not always fun; and although sometimes painful; the Holy Spirit convicts us in order to mature us.  Sure I have battle scars as a result of ministry; and yes, each confrontation has shaped me, but I find that when God reveals my personal faults, that this type of lesson is better learned and is more fruitful in my life and ministry.  God often shapes me through daily Bible reading as He opens my eyes, mind, and heart; but I would like to share some other events that have shaped me in this article.

Some of the major events in my life include getting married, having children, getting an education, and being called to shepherd some great people that God has placed in my path.  I consider these events major, because the listed events have led to many other great event in my life.

Getting married has taught me (and is still teaching me) how to share life with others.  I typically enjoyed my isolation growing up – doing things my way, when I wanted to do them – but marriage has broken down the wall of isolation and forced me to let people into my life and share life with them.

Being blessed with four children – and each one being different – each child has contributed to the way that I think about life.  For the purpose of this newsletter, one significant lesson from having children is understanding what other people are saying when it comes to children.  Generally, most people say the same things, just everyone seems to say it in a different manner.  Understanding this has allowed me to encourage others in parenting and being involved in their child’s life.

Getting an education has broadened my vocabulary and allowed me to define the things that God has been doing throughout my life.  Education has also deepened my passion and love for the one true and holy God.  And lastly my education has broadened my ability to think logically over difficult areas of Scripture.  While applying this logical thinking to life, in turn gives way to better leading.  Although we should never stop learning, I am still internalizing all that has been taught over the past 6 ½ years of school.

Shepherding many great people over the last fifteen years has actually shaped me more than I have been able to shape them.  Seeing real people that have real hurts awakens me to the realization that life is much bigger than my own.  This realization has driven me to my knees before the throne of God.  Now realizing that the problems that we face are much bigger than we can handle, I have now become more dependent upon the sovereign God of the universe.  Learning to walk with hurting people in the midst of tragedy, is humbling and has deepened my faith.

Another lesson for me that I have learned from shepherding great people is that most of the time, those who have walked through life are a lot wiser than me.  Even though they may have reached out for my opinion, the reality is that they have the answer and are trying to do their part in developing me into a pastor.  Upon this realization, their patience with me, care for me, and willingness to listen to me has flooded my soul with great appreciation.

But this article was birthed out of another stage of life that has grown me a little more.  This stage of life is walking through my oldest daughter’s senior year.  Unconsciously, I have attempted to be at every Cross Country meet and softball game.  But by trying to balance time with my other three kids and being faithful and obedient to the call of God, I have fallen short in several areas.  Although I have a higher expectation of myself than others may, I truly feel that I have let some people down.  But it wasn’t until I actually spoke the words that the lesson became reality for me; and those words were, “I have a senior this year and I will not be able to commit to that.”

Hearing myself say those words began a flood of emotion.  The emotions were not necessarily over my daughter growing up; well, because…that is why we have kids, to rear them and give them the best chance to succeed in life as an adult.  But the emotion that I was feeling was anger at myself and the attitude that would develop when I heard others say these same words.

Every time I would hear someone else say these words, I would categorize them and become somewhat aggravated.  Although I would not verbalize nor hold a grudge toward others when they would not follow through on a commitment; I would however, think to myself that any true commitment requires sacrifice.

Let’s just say that I have matured again.  Although some may think, “It’s about time”, please know that I desire to mature a little more every day.  After actually typing the words of this article, admittedly, I was reminded of the numerous ways that God has matured me.  And having probably exceeded your attention span, let me quickly share the latest lesson that God has taught me.

During my prayer time, I mostly pray for others rather than myself.  Actually I usually only pray, “God, allow me to see as you see, think as you think, hear as you hear, and love as you love” when praying for myself.  I firmly believe that a prayer such as this is according to God’s will, and God is more apt to answer a prayer that is according to His will.  But in praying this, I firmly believe that God has opened my mind because I have asked Him to do so.  And each time God opens my mind, I mature a little more.

So, over the years, if I have made you feel as if I was aggravated or displeased with you over something, first please forgive me. I am very task oriented and progress driven.  Second, know that I am a work in progress.  A work in progress that is actually working in the progress.

Prepared to Worship

I feel like starting every post with "It's been a while...", but I do not apologize for my span between posts anymore.  I love the ministry; and quite frankly, I will do ministry over blogging any day.  As some may argue that "blogging is ministry", I would agree that by sharing a Christ-centered, Gospel-focused voice - by any means, anytime - can be a ministry.  However, when needs arise or opportunities to meet with someone personally are given, I will choose a personal interaction every time.

But with that said, as a minister the Sunday morning worship hour does not allow enough time to paint a Gospel picture for all of life.  Although God is not confined to time, we are.  One way a minister is able to convey more information when time does not allow is to blog.  But then, who has time to regularly blog?  Hopefully time will allow me the opportunity to blog more in the near future - since I have now graduated seminary :-) - and share a Christ-centered, Gospel-focused view on current events.

So, now that I have your attention, what would I like to share with you.  Worship has been a big topic for many years in our church.  We previously looked at worship during a fourteen week sermon series, and in this blog I would like to share some reminders of the importance and the ways to prepare ourselves for worship before arriving at corporate worship.

I recently read a blog post that reminded me of our need to prepare for worship.  And during the sermon series we looked at preparing ourselves for worship by saying, "We need to spend a personal time with God on Sunday, just like any other day.  It's not that the worship service can't lead you into worship, but the point of personal time with God is that you get alone time with God.  That should excite the soul every day!"

One of the other things that was discussed during our previous sermon series was how the the family - before leaving the house for worship - should pray together, and ask God to speak to them through Sunday school, fellowship, song, and worship.

If you know me at all, you know that there was much more to be said on the subject, but the point is that we need to prepare ourselves for worship prior to gathering corporately.  I recommend the blog post (the highlighted "blog post" above) I had mentioned, while encouraging everyone to wake up a few minutes earlier and begin preparing themselves to gather with other believers in worshiping before the throne of God.

Vision, 2017 and Beyond

Well, it's officially 2017 now.  While thinking over this past Sunday's "vision" sermon and reflecting on the things I wished to have said, please know; as with all sermons, time does not allow for everything to be conveyed.  I'm sure that those in attendance appreciate my being conscious of time, so I will share with you in this blog a little more of what God had pressed upon me from last week.

During this Sunday's "vision" sermon, we mentioned that the mission, vision, and purpose for Campbellsburg Baptist Church has not changed.  The Mission and Ministry handbook that was published and distributed last year requires no updates or revisions for our continued ministry.  But this Sunday we did take a close look at the individual Christian that makes up CBC.  In Ephesians, we noticed Paul giving the church a hope in their "oneness" with the Father and how we are called to walk in a manner worthy of our calling.  This manner demands that we first consider our relationship with God.

In addition to last week’s sermon, let me say that we must take serious our opportunity and our calling to make much of God in our daily lives.  But for the believer, it all starts with our desire to know God better and to accomplish this, it requires that we study and spend personal time with Him on a regular basis.  With life being so full of distractions, it is totally understandable how one can put-off squeezing out more time for anything.  But if someone has been called into a relationship with Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit, I can't imagine anything replacing the love, forgiveness, and promise that was received during the conversion.

I am not perfect, and yes, there are times that I to put-off spending time alone with God because of my own personal desires; however, when I do put-off that time with God, I miss it.  I miss spending time with God and listening to Him speak to me through His Word.  I miss praying to God and then later seeing Him answer my prayers.

Let me challenge each of you to make the commitment this year to sacrifice your personal desires in order to make sure you spend time with God on a daily basis.  If you desire to study in groups, I will connect you with others that share your desires.  I also commit to meeting with you to study together until you feel more comfortable studying on your own.

Having already stated that there is more to be said than time will allow each Sunday; well, so does God have so much to say that an entire lifetime will allow.  Let me ask you to reflect on this; there is so much to know about God, that He gives us an eternity to learn it.  Will you put forth the time to learn what God is teaching us right now?

Outward, Missional, or Gone Fishing...It's all the same

The link below is a fabulous blog that really speaks of my heart as well.  Having asked numerous times, "Are we fishers of men or keeper's of the aquarium", I encourage you to follow the below link and prayerfully consider the possible way that God is calling you into the ministry at Campbellsburg Baptist Church.

http://www.kyandbeyond.org/is-yours-an-innie-or-an-outie/

Transgender Today

In light of the latest news regarding the Obama administrations transgender policy, there is a clear confusion regarding this issue by many that I have spoken to.  Many concerns and confusions are centered around the legality of this policy and the magnitude in which this moral shift will eventually invade every home.  Out of love and grace, let me say that the purpose of this post is not to speak Biblically to the issue; but rather, to provide information to the reader by clarifying the many terms of the transgender movement, while identifying the legal rights that are being infringed upon by our government.

For now, I am going to direct you to a post that accomplishes the above for us.  Please click here to read the post by the ERLC of the SBC.  This post provides clear definition of what is happening.  Although this post contains occasional legal jargon that can be a bit confusing at times, all in all, the ERLC provides a simplistic understanding regarding the policy that many seem to be concerned with.

In future posts we will decipher what the churches responsibility is concerning the issue of transgender, while continuing to be salt and light within our home, church, community, and schools.

Hospitality

Hospitality has become a lost art.  There are many reasons for which we could lay blame for this, but fellowshipping with our neighbors has become almost non-existent.  A big reason for no longer opening our homes to our neighbor is that society rarely views the world as God would have us to.  As this paragraph may sting a little, I urge you to continue reading.

The Bible has much to say regarding hospitality; in fact, God goes so far as to write entire books within the Bible on the subject.  Hospitality is one way in which the believer lives out the Gospel, as well as being on mission in our community.

As I could spend the time - and by not doing so is not belittling the importance – in showing how Scripture instructs hospitality, I feel led to discuss a few ways that we can be more hospitable.  And this fits into the mission of our church for 2016.

At the beginning of 2016, we discussed the mission and ministry of Campbellsburg Baptist Church.  In doing so, through the means of our newsletter, we have challenged each member to be on mission in various ways; such as prayer walks throughout our community, and actively inviting people to church.  While continuing to challenge our church with this mission, it is necessary to stress the importance of engaging our community.  And in order to invest in people’s lives with the Gospel, there are a few things to consider.

First, we must have a love and concern for our neighbor.  Without the Saving Grace of Jesus Christ being the fuel of our souls, it is difficult to see the world as God desires.

Second, we must be intentional, an intentionality that is driven by the passion of Jesus Christ.  A passion that manifests itself through sacrificing time and plans in order to be available to our community.  Intentionality is a necessity in developing a routine of being hospitable, because there is always going to be something else that we could be doing.

Thirdly, a sincere prayer life.  Prayers that petition God to send the right people into our lives in which we can invest the Gospel through hospitality.

As there will be more to come about being hospitable in future blogs, let me conclude by urging everyone to view this podcast.  It is about 15 minutes and very powerful.  Testimonies like this podcast should motivate us in being intentional and prayerful about what the Gospel means to us and how we can be Christ-centered, Gospel-driven believers in our communities.

F.L.E.E

I do a lot of reading on a daily basis and a portion of this reading contains selected blogs.  Each blog has a lot of helpful information that I internalize and later partially reproduce through a sermon, a teaching moment, or program/event.  With only the inerrant Word of God being infallible, when reading extra-biblical information we use the parts that pertain to our lives and ministries.  Enjoying most things I read, I rarely find an  article that is complete.  Well this morning I found one that I would like to share.  The below link leads you to a blog that I would encourage everyone to check out regularly.

https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/f-l-e-e-a-strategy-for-pursuing-sexual-purity

Adoration

In my last post I shared how God had guided me into preparing a vision and purpose for the ministry of Campbellsburg Baptist Church.  Early one morning in June God awakened me by flooding my soul with vision, and the result is captured in a sixteen page document entitled Mission and Ministry Handbook.

Also in the last post, I stated how I would provide updates that show the results from sharing this document.  On Sunday January 10th, we shared our heart of ministry with the church and made the Mission and Ministry Handbook available.  As a result, there have been several people to provide positive feedback, along with many questions.  The many questions were expected because of the content, but they are a huge blessing because it means that people are actually reading it.

But the first result that I would like to share from this experience is what God has accomplished in me.  Having prayed over this document and the presentation of it, this type of prayer has depend my adoration of God.  As I would like to use the word reminded instead of deepened, I feel that reminded would be boasting of my spirituality.

God has appeared more beautiful, glorious, and majestic to me.  When thinking of God; His character, His patience, His love, His Immanence, His Transcendence, and on we could go, I am reminded that He alone is worthy of worship.

If nothing else results from this effort of revitalizing ministry at Campbellsburg Baptist Church, then I feel that my deeper appreciation, gratitude and worship of God is sufficient.

A 2016 For 2017 and Beyond

It is 9:00 A.M. on January 1st 2016 and I sadly report that the only thing I have accomplished so far in 2016 is sleeping (borrowed this from Twitter).  Although staying up a lot later than normal, I have to admit that our family closed out 2015 and brought in 2016 with joy together.  Not that other years have not been special, but this New Years was a lot of fun and I hope that it is a glimpse of what year will entail...enjoying the time that we have together as we get things accomplished.

Our society seemingly gives up on the current year after Thanksgiving, as it eagerly anticipates the next year in hopes of all that it will have to offer.  As this seems to be the norm, I hope I do not sound like the rest of society; however, there is a real excitement surrounding 2016 and seeing the results of what God had started in 2015.

Although I attempt to live every day as God ordains, six months ago God blessed me by providing a vision and direction for 2016.  Because of God's leading and my trying to be obedient, preparations were made in 2015 for 2016.  With that being said, I am really excited to see what all God has planned.

In past - yet similar - experiences when God has pressed upon me as He has over the last six months, the results were certainly unexpected.  So without being able to anticipate God's finished product, I want to clearly say that I am more excited that God is pressing upon me.

I love it when God clearly conveys vision for me because it takes the guess work out of leading.  Always willing to, and daily seeking His direction from Scripture, it is really refreshing when God opens the mind with clarity, understanding, and excitement.  It could be one of those years in which I wonder aimlessly, but God has decided to bless me with a reminder that He is at work in my life, in Campbellsburg Baptist Church, and all of His creation.

So stay tuned for; what I can only imagine will be, a year of exciting and refreshing reports of God being praised and worshiped for His goodness and His guidance.  God bless each of you in 2016.

Forgiveness, For Every Mistake

Not being a pageant watcher at all, I did hear through social media of a mistake that was made by host Steve Harvey.  After the many interviews and catwalks (if that is what they call them), the ladies were judged by a panel over their appearance and performance.  Now these ladies have made it through local, state, and national competition and had been chosen to represent their country in this contest.  With having two daughters compete in the Henry County Miss Pre-Teen Pageant, I can only imagine the money, time, and stress involved at the level of Miss Universe.

Well during the climax of the 2015 competition, Steve Harvey incorrectly read the card and awarded the wrong contestant the title of Miss Universe.  Now imagine the implications of this mistake, they had to remove the crown from one beauty queen and place it upon the other as millions (minus me) were watching. Not to include the embarrassment of the countries and sponsors of the candidates involved.  The competition as a whole lost credibility for some who regularly watch.  And what about Mr. Harvey?  The prestige and eloquence of this competition carries much responsibility, and during the climax of the competition was not a moment for such a mistake.

Two things, one Mr. Harvey owned up to his mistake and took full responsibility for it.  This was very credible on his part, but one mistake his professional career will struggle from because of.  Being a comedian, Harvey will probably cover this mistake with humor; however, it will not be forgotten by Miss Colombia.

ooo...you almost had it, ya gotta be quicker than that.

Second, despite our mistakes - the magnitude and repetitiveness of them - the blood of Jesus Christ can cover them all.  If we admit our mistakes and trust in the perfectness of Jesus Christ, we are forgiven.  This forgiveness requires that we turn from those things in which we have been forgiven and place blockers to keep us from repeating those sins.

Although Harvey's mistake will receive much media (as I am sure it already has) and be discussed, analyzed, and changes placed in the competition in order that such a mistake will never be repeated, let me remind you that God feels the same way about our sins, and He sent Jesus.

Evangelism

During a meeting between friends and colleagues, the style and approach to doing evangelism was breached during their conversation.  The pastor that started the conversation laid a very awkward process for doing evangelism.  The other pastor had nothing to offer but a critique of his colleagues’ way of doing evangelism.  The initiating pastor was a bit saddened by his friends’ quick critique, but then after a few moments he turned to his friend and said, "I may not have the best way of doing evangelism, but I would have an obscure way of doing evangelism rather a non-existent way."

I am not sure where I heard this story the first time, but for a Christian/Pastor, this is one of those stories that is not easily forgotten.  In fact, for me it is very motivational and a clear reminder of our purpose as Christians.  As I have said numerous times that God created us to worship Him - and I still believe that statement - but as redeemed and forgiven children of God, our worship is resulted through our evangelism.

Hear me out, in our worship of God; either personal or corporately, our hearts are reminded of God's goodness, love, patience, and sacrifice.  As a result, sharing this message seems to be the only logical response.  God's goodness is that good, God's love is that loving, and God’s sacrifice is that sacrificial, that we want others to share in it.  His goodness and love is transforming through the realization of the sacrifice that was paid for our sins.

I can't imagine not getting to tell someone about God's love and His sacrifice for us.  This was realized one Sunday morning during a sermon when I said, “They would have to cut out my tongue to keep me from sharing Jesus Christ.”  At the moment of sharing this, I got emotional from the weight of not getting to share the glorious news of Jesus Christ.

We are called to be the witness of God’s love through the Person and Work of Jesus Christ, by the leading of the Holy Spirit.  To be a witness, we trust and follow the Scripture’s mandate of being conformed to the image of Christ by surrendering ourselves to God’s will.  Through self-sacrifice, we are making ourselves available to the leading God by the Holy Spirit.

Just remember, we will have an eternity to worship God, but only a lifetime to share Jesus with others.

The Reflections Of A Servant

It has been a little bit since my last post; and with a lot happening over the last few weeks, I would like to share some of the thoughts that have been collecting.  The recent unexpected passing of Mrs. Donna has enlisted some thoughts that I feel strongly about sharing.

Having met Mrs. Donna on many occasions within the environment of the school, I was always impressed with the way she controlled the room with patience, compassion, and great joy.  She loved her job as well as everyone she interacted with on a daily basis.  But this love and respect wasn't a one way street, everyone felt the same way about her.

After spending a little time talking with her husband, it is clear that her outlook on life was transposed to her position at the school.  Having often said, "Every child deserves a hug"; this motto was not only frequently heard and acted upon, but became contagious.

So, what are some of the thoughts that have been collecting.  Everyone can make a difference in someone's life, if only we are able to see everyone else as a deserving recipient.  This can be quite simple actually, if we allowed Scripture to penetrate our lives.  Luke 6:31 tells us to treat others as we would like to be treated.  This is profound wisdom that is not dependant on anything or anyone else.  We can wake up every day making the decision to treat each other as human beings.

There is always a place to serve others.  Mrs. Donna took her position at the school eleven years ago for the income, but as a result of her compassionate heart, she noticed a simple hug made a difference in someone's life each day.  We can all find a place to serve others if the above is being applied to our lives.  And as Christians, a servant's heart should be the result of what Christ has accomplished on your behalf.

Christian In The World...Even Public Schools

I have often been asked the question regarding the limits that Christians have when it comes to their faith in the public schools.  Having typically answered with, "As long as you don't force anyone to pray with you or converse with you about your faith, then there is nothing that can be said."  This answer is a display of my ignorance of legal jargon, but I was very encouraged when I run across this post by The Gospel Coalition regarding this issue.  But before I let you go, let me remind you that too often we have let the threat of offending someone silence our proclamation (Joshua 1:7, 1 Cor 16:13-14).  So...how far can we take our example for Christ in the public school?  Read this article for the answers.

A Little Good News Today

Having observed several years ago the vast negativity and gross moral behavior that plagues our news media, it had become very difficult to continue watching the news.  After being asked my opinion of recent event reported in the news and being caught off guard, I decided to include news consumption as a part of my regular routine.  Having watched the news the last couple of weeks, I have decided that my initial assessment has not changed.  With an average total of thirty stories every news cast (including weather and sports), most of the stories were about murders/major crimes, others were over major trials, with drug/gang issues and child/animal neglect receiving equal attention.  Several stories pertain to political issues that seem to be the same issues that were discussed when I quit watching the news fourteen years ago.  And the rest were sports and weather.

As Christians, with hearts burdened for the lostness in our world, Ann Murry’s 1983 hit song, “A Little Good News Today” would be a breath of fresh air.  We prefer reports of people doing good to others, or people celebrating victories in life other than personal achievements that are often found in sports.  In the last two weeks, I heard only four stories that really encouraged me out of an average total of 400 stories.

Just as each newscast is accustomed, I have started this particular post on a negative note. But now I will quickly turn to the more positive side of things by reminding us of the sovereignty of God and His work within His creation.  Even though we live in a fallen world that promotes self-pleasure, self-gratification, and a long list of other self's; as growing followers of Christ, we begin to notice the lostness even more.   But the lostness – although a burden to our souls – magnifies the Holiness of God.

Now stay with me; when the Apostle John writes about the light and darkness in 1 John 1:5-7, he suggests that we keep using the light of Scripture to see the darkness in the world.  When the light penetrates the darkness, nothing can hide.  That is how it happens, as we walk with Jesus – who is the light – our sins are identified by the light and we cannot hide in them.  As we are in the light of Jesus, we see the lostness of the world and we become burdened.

The solution, rejoice in the fact that we see the darkness of the world because of our relationship with God, through Jesus Christ, by the Holy Spirit.  This is the hope, in that the world is temporary, yet by faith in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, we have a promised eternity.  Secondly, rejoice in the successes of this world, even though the news will not report it.

Even though the norm of our media system today neither edifies nor encourages Christian morals; when in fact, they refuse to inform the public of good news in fear of offending someone, God is not finished with His creation.  Although God may be disappointed with how things are, He is never caught off guard nor surprised when things happen.  And as the rock of morality continues to be chipped away at, know that God preserves His remnant.

The Night Before Sunday

My first blog post, and this post just so happens to be on the eve of Sunday morning worship.  With that thought, I wanted to share with you that after 14 years of ministry, some things have changed, while others have not.

Reflecting on the fact that I am concerning myself with blog creation rather than gorging myself on sermon preperation is one of the major changes to a typical Saturday night. Watching football instead of having worship music softly playing in the background for inspiration is another difference.   But other things have not changed.

Spending time in family worship is always a blessing; however, Saturday nights are supercharged.  Although family worship happens every night, Saturdays seem to be extra special, because we pray for our worship service the following day.

Another thing that remains the same is the excitement of the next day.  After preperaing throughout the week and the blessings that come from worship through study, the anticipation of sharing this with the hearers gets my blood pumping baby.  It is a tremendous blessing to speak on behalf of our great God.  While preparation during the week has changed the dynamic of my Saturday night, the emotion and excitement of the next day remains the same.