It seems like so long ago but in reality it has been just over a month since a devastating earthquake ravaged Haiti.  While there was a tremendous outpouring of help and support in the days and weeks following it there is still so much that needs to be done.

For the past month or so I have been reading about how Compassion International and Shaun Groves have been working to bring together an amazing line-up of artists for a benefit concert.  The event takes place tonight in Nashville, TN.  You can see some of the line-up above – in addition Jon Foreman of Switchfoot will also be performing.  In addition there is a live auction over HERE that will help as well.

While there are still tickets available if you live in the area I realize that most of the people that read this don’t live anywhere close to that.  That’s where the wonder of the internet comes in.

The entire event will be streamed live tonight at HELPHAITILIVE.COM at 8:30 pm EST- I encourage you to watch and support it through both your prayers and your gifts.

OK, some people say my sense of humor is a little bit….well, “off” (and by some people I mean my wife).

I saw this today and was in tears from laughing.  Apparently, this was shown during the NFL Conference finals this year.  My hat is off to Wal-Mart for this one.  I also think this is better than about 99% of the ones shown during the SuperBowl this year.

What do you think?  Funny or Not?

So, if you know me you know I tend to be a bit of a busy person.  Between my family, my day job, my church job and a few other odds and ends free time usually happens around this time of the night (12:30 am).  As I look at the next few weeks\months I realize it’s not going to get any less crowded…but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Taylor is coming to the end of swim season…and then starts track.  Ally just had her last indoor soccer game…but still has a month of practice before the spring season starts up (and she’s playing softball this year, too).  Brooke is…well she’s Brooke and she’s awesome.

As for me, I continue to focus on the Sunday Evening Connexions service at Rittman UMC and the youth program.  We’ve been having a good time at our Wednesday night youth group meetings and getting into some good discussions.  The Sunday evening service is going well…we just continue to struggle with an effective way to get the word out about the service.

I am excited to be have the opportunity to preach this Sunday at both the morning and evening services.  In addition I will be doing the Good Friday service again this year.  I am also working through some ideas for a series that I will be doing at the evening service sometime this spring.  I am incredibly grateful that Pastor Chuck is giving me the opportunity as a lay person to stretch my wings and take on some preaching responsibility as I continue to listen to where it is that God is leading me.

I’ve been spending a lot more time in the Word lately thanks to a men’s group that I’m a part of on Friday mornings and am really enjoying it.

There are a few other things that I’m doing as well – I will be serving on team for the Summer Walk to Emmaus.

With all of these things going on the most important thing I’ll be doing is ensuring that I am giving my amazing wife and kids the time and attention they deserve.  If there is one thing this past week away with Beth showed me it’s that it’s VITAL to any marriage to work on it and spend time with those people that are the most important to you.

So, we are back in Ohio.  It’s a beautiful 30 degrees today with some light freezing drizzle.  Yep – we’re back in Ohio.

Last Sunday Beth and I headed down to Miami to spend the night and then headed off the next day on a four night Bahamas cruise.  It was a nice time for the two of us to be together, however, it probably wasn’t as nice as it COULD have been.

In Miami we had dinner at Bubba Gump’s.  Beth loves the movie Forrest Gump and it was cool to see props, quotes and other fun stuff from the movies there (and the food wasn’t bad either).

Now, I’m not one to complain but we were looking forward to relaxing by the pool, sitting on a beach doing nothing, maybe do some snorkeling, swimming in the clear blue water, getting a nice tan and just enjoying some warm weather…we really didn’t do any of that.

The weather for the whole trip was a cool 65-72 degrees with winds around 20+ MPH.  Was it warmer than Ohio, yep.  Was it warm enough to do the things we wanted to…not for us.

We tried to sit by the pool…Beth had three layers on and a towel around her.

Our second day we were at the cruise line’s private island (this was our beach day) – we found a nice beach chair and started to relax.  Then a nice cruise worker came up to use and pulled us off the island after about an hour because of deteriorating weather conditions (waves were around 10+ feet and the ride back to the ship was like a visit to Cedar Point).

We did sit by the pool a little our last day….though we never got in the water or even into our swimsuits.

We did take a nice taxi tour of Nassau, Bahama.  We saw the Queen’s Staircase, Fort Charlotte, and the Atlantis Resort.

On Coco Cay (the private island) we did see the blue water and walked in the sand a bit.

In Key West we made a stop at Sloppy Joes for nachos with sloppy joe, visited the marker for the “southern most point in the US” (which isn’t really the southernmost point – check the link) and had some key lime pie.

We had some good food on the ship and saw some great shows in the evening – the highlight which was a comedian\juggler by the name of Mike Price – the Rockstar Juggler.  Not only was his juggling amazing but I don’t know that I’ve laughed that hard in a long time!  The finale was in the dark while he wore laser gloves and all of the balls and pins lit up and changed colors.

The ultimate goal of relaxation WAS accomplished….and that is good.  Beth and I were grateful for a chance to get away and spend some time together.

The question everyone asks us is, “Would we go on a cruise again?”…..hmm, probably not – or at least not for a while.   While it was good for just the two of us to get away – we DID miss the kids!

For the next week Beth and I are doing something we haven’t done for over 13 years – take a week’s vacation by ourselves.  We leave in the morning for Miami, Fl where we will spend the night and wake up on Monday to board the Majesty of the Seas and head off for 4 nights in the Bahamas.  We’ll be stopping at Nassau, Bahamas; Coco Cay and Key West.  The kids are with my parents all week so we can just spend time relaxing and working on us.  It’s a little like a 2nd honeymoon, anniversary gift and 40th birthday celebration all rolled into one.

We are so excited to have this chance to get away.  While we are gone I will probably tweet a few times (at least while we are on US soil) so you can follow us here or in the sidebar on the right if your interested….but my guess is those will be few and far between.

I would ask that you keep us both in your prayers – both for safe travels and for a time of renewal; pray for our kids – especially Brooke is doesn’t like being away from mom and pray for my parents as they get to go “back in time” and deal with three kids, sports, school and all that other fun stuff.

It’s been a crazy day….but a great day.

It started off with Kidz church this morning.  Our memory verse for the lesson was 2 Chron 15:7 “But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded.”  In honor of the big game tonight I used some football stories to help with this point including the “death crawl” scene from ‘Facing the Giants’.  Here at the end of the night I think the New Orleans Saints might just agree that staying strong is a good thing!

Of course, we know that our reward for staying strong is bigger than any football game….which is where our night started out at 6:00.  We had a great evening of worship tonight.  We celebrated Communion and raised the rafters with some wonderful worship.  The set tonight consisted of:

“Praise Adoni” (Baloche)
“Wonderful God” (Baloche)
“Jesus Messiah” (Tomlin)

We did Rich Mullins’ “Creed” following the message and then had Communion.

For communion we played “You Are My King” (Foote) and closed the service out with “I Am Free” (Egan).  This was a last minute (as in 30 minutes prior to service) addition and we used the iFlexx track to do it (with the intention being to learn it as a team in the future).  It went great and was a great way to end the service, be thankful for the gift that Jesus gave us and get us pumped up for some football.

After the service we all headed into the social hall to watch the big game and enjoy our chili cook-off.  We had 9 different chilis, 2 soups and a ton of other amazing food.  If there is one thing I have always said about Methodists….we love our pot lucks!  It was a great night of fellowship.  Oh…and the game was pretty darn good, too!!

The only question now is do I give away my winning chili recipe or turn it into a secret family recipe??  Decisions, decisions.

This blog post is a part of the Sunday Setlists over at TheWorshipCommunity.Com