Over the past 18 months I took some time to do a little soul searching. I believe that this is an exercise that everyone (especially my brothers and sisters in ministry) needs to practice regularly. This process always helps to keep me clean and close to my Creator. This exercise always seems to bring my life a new perspective.

So, as I am sitting here…giving much thought to my life’s path, I cannot help but travel down memory lane. I am such a blessed man and I truly realize this. I have been involved in some of the most amazing ministry endeavors over the years and am totally blessed to have seen so many lives changed for eternity. I have made countless friendships and formed many partnerships as I have delivered God’s glorious gospel around the world.

All of these things are great to think about, but I have to squeeze past them…I must think of the here and now…I must think about the future…I have to force myself to look ahead and to ask of God, what is it that He expects from me next.

We must know and understand the things He has for us to do involves dreaming big dreams and looking for the big picture. We have to seek clear guidance because the job is never quite complete when there are still so many who have never heard about Jesus. Ministry moves on, concepts change but the gospel must be proclaimed. The Word of God never changes and God’s plan for our lives is concrete.

I have dared to dream. Scripture teaches that if we delight ourselves in the Lord, He will give us the desires of our heart. Through this process, God has clearly communicated to me the need to start a new work. The Point Community Church was born out of a desire for something significant. Even before we have had our first official meeting, we have already experienced Him working and opening doors. We have also experienced a leadership team come together and each person has a desire to be significant for His Kingdom. I would very much appreciate your prayers and if you feel led to help in this work that God has called me to lead, I would love to talk with you. Our first official meeting will be held on June 8, and our official launch date is November 11, 2012. We have many financial and equipment needs, but most of all we covet your prayers. I am truly convinced that God is going to use the Point Community Church to lead in a spiritual awakening that is going to sweep our city.

I have found that Critical self-evaluation is good for me. I love hearing from God. I have found that some do not like this process because it opens their life up and forces them to face reality. In my life, I have found that success has a way of boxing me in. In gaining new perspective on life and ministry, I realize that I cannot rest on my laurels. Past successes are exactly that…in the past. So I go to my knees and pray…asking God to renew vision to renew passion. To bring freshness…reality…peace and purpose.

God always has a plan…so I am praying…and the cool thing about seeking God is that I know He is not through with me yet. He is never through

God expects us to be all about His gospel. Scripture teaches us that we are to wait on Him. His word teaches “When people do not accept divine guidance, they run wild. But whoever obeys the law is joyful.” This is the NLT version of Proverbs 29:18. We are to seek divine guidance. In seeking this guidance the joy in serving comes from knowing that God is going to use you the way that He sees fit. We simply have to seek and wait.

My life’s verse is Galatians 1:10.

I truly and sincerely want to please God.

So in my self evaluation, I have found that I am looking for a spiritual freshness for my life, so I have asked God to reveal His will to me and His plan, and I am convinced that He created me for this very purpose.

I love you all<><

We hope and pray that this note finds you doing well in your walk with our Savior. We are so excited at all that God is doing in our life and ministry and I am writing to you to let you know what He is currently doing in our lives. Over the past couple of years we have been praying for direction. We feel that God is leading us away from student and college ministry and calling us to something new and different. It has been an exciting journey where God has clearly shown us and grown us.

Plans at this point are to plant a church in the Ortega area of Jacksonville, Florida. This is a very multi cultural and multi ethnic area with lots of young families. There are many different types of people in this highly concentrated area. We are excited about the possibilities and challenges of starting a ministry from nothing and seeing many people come to Christ. This move for us is very much like going on the mission field. We have the support of our current church, but funding will be ver limited, so we would very much appreciate your prayers as we begin this new endeavor. We are currently working with and through the Jacksonville Baptist Association (JBA) and the Florida Baptist Convention. We have been assigned a Coach/Mentor and a missional strategist to help guide us through this new process.

We need your prayers! We want to be totally covered in prayer. We want this new church plant covered in prayer. We know that God is going to use us in a real and relevant way. We also know that through this very relational mission, He is going to use us and our team to reach many young families and singles who are daily migrating to this area of town.

We also need financial support for this new and exciting work. This is where the big faith comes in. We are having to totally depend on Him. We truly believe that God will provide for all our needs. If you feel that you might be interested in supporting this ministry endeavor through prayer and/or financially, we would love to talk with you further. Please feel free to call, text or email.

We are excited and know that God is up to something big right now! We cannot wait to report to you all that He is doing. Please be in prayer for us as we completely follow His leading.

Faithfully Serving,

Jeff and Sheila

I love this powerful little verse of scripture. The simplicity is overwhelming. This verse from the Shepherds Psalm forces us to think and reflect on our relationship with the Creator. It helps us to see and understand the value of resting in the Lord. Many of us are constantly running, we often have the propensity to out run our coverage. God is simply reminding us here in this verse that rest for the weary is available when we totally follow Him. The key is…following Him in obedience.

For some reason, I don’t require much sleep and many times for me I have found this is a good thing. But in the busyness of my life, I have also learned the value of really resting. I have found that new perspectives can be gained when I am resting in the Lord. My dad always tried to teach me to work smart…not hard. There is great value in my earthly dad’s philosophy of life and work. I believe that there are so many followers of Christ that are totally overwhelmed and so tired and worn out that they cannot concentrate on what our Creator has for them to do and accomplish.

Scripture says that “He makes me lie down”. I love the picture that these words paint. Sometimes, we have to be made to lie down and rest. My eight year old grand daughter Hadley is a whole lot like her grandfather. She requires very little sleep. When she stays at our house I tend to allow her stay up late, and she never misses an opportunity to get up early. As her grandfather, I know that she needs rest…it is good for her. So sometimes I have to force the issue and encourage her to rest. She sometimes does not like it so much but I can always tell the next day after she has had a good nights sleep. We tend to work better if we are truly well rested.

Our heavenly Father knows that we need rest. Even though we may feel otherwise because of commitments, obligations and life. Sometimes, He has to make us lie down. He knows what is best for us. Resting in the Lord is a great place to be.

Think about the scripture for a minute. I cannot think of a better place to lie down than in a green pasture. Visions from my childhood come to mind when I think about lying down outside and I can conjure up the sights, the smells, the feel of wind on my face. This to me is comforting. There is value in being outside and being at rest. This is why so many people are drawn the the mountains or seashore. Our Lord Himself like to spend time with the Father in the mountains and on the water.

If we truly believe that our Heavenly Father knows what is best for us, we will also know when He is making us to lie down. When we lie down, it is not by the rocky rapids, it is by quiet waters. This in its self is comforting. Rest in the Lord today…God the Father, truly knows what is best. I love you all<><

Have you ever thought about what you truly need to survive in life? I have…and the results that I am coming up with are really quite surprising. The truth of the matter is that we as humans require very little to survive. In creation, God took care of all of our needs. But in light of this enlightening revelation, it seems that time, abundance and our relentless pursuit of the American Dream has led many to believe they simply cannot survive without the little things in life that make them comfortable. I was thinking about comfort this morning and could not help but jump into the word of God. In Psalm 23, a passage that is both familiar to believers and non believers, we can learn somethings about comfort. When I think about the times in my own life were I was most comfortable, I am ashamed to tell you that during many of those times of perceived comfort, I was very far from God. My comfort I found was coming from things…Let me clarify, I am not opposed to nice things…I enjoy a cup of starbucks on my way to work and HD television is wonderful. But I could do without both of those things To often we place our focus on things…and unfortunately many times this causes us to take our focus off God. He is our Shepherd. The bible teaches this, but what does this really mean? How can we apply this first verse of the Shepherds Psalm to our life? It means that if He is totally leading your life…you will lack for nothing. Have you ever considered that when God is in total control of your life and His plan for you and me is being carried out completely that it may not be such a comfortable place to be. As we deepen and develop our level of complete trust in Him…some uncomfortable steps may have to be taken. Total trust in God requires risk and lets face it, risk are not comfortable…But I want to remind you that His word teaches…that we will lack for nothing.

Are you comfortable in your walk with the Lord today? What do you truly need to survive? Are you trusting completely in Him?

I love you all<><

I am a dreamer, I have always been a dreamer…I love to dream…I love to think about all of the wonderful possibilities of places and people on this planet that our wonderful Lord created. I enjoy the thoughts that dreaming brings, I enjoy the planning that comes from my amazing dreams. I have also found that I love to be around people who dream. Dreamers inspire me, they seem to challenge me and help me to stay the course. I believe that in order for us to accomplish anything in life, we have to think it through. In order for our dreams to become reality, we have to develop a process. I am a healthy dreamer…my dreams are mainly about places that I would love to travel to and visit. My dreaming is often fostered by the travel channel or different documentaries that I watch. Magazines also help stimulate my dreaming about faraway places, places such as Easter Island that I will travel to someday.

Something that I have been noticing lately as I have truly taken time to really get to know the people that God places in my life, is that so many people are unable to dream. This to me is tragic. They go through life thinking about what they are going to accomplish after retirement or at some far away point in their lives and totally miss opportunities to enjoy the journey of life that they are currently on. I encourage young people to keep a dream alive in their hearts. I am so very thankful that I can dream and I am thankful that my children and grandchildren love to dream. Dreaming opens countless opportunities. My dreams seem to stretch me, they drive me beyond where I am. My dreaming helps me to accomplish the things that I really want to do and enjoy in life. I am not normally a list maker, but I have developed a list of things that I still want to accomplish. I have realized that God is not finished with me and I think that it is important for us to dream big dreams and keep the dreams alive by planning and pursuing Him. The Bible says that we are fearfully and wonderfully made, I think it would be horrible to miss out on the plans that God has for us since He put so much thought into our lives. Life is a journey, God never misses an opportunity to use you as you go through life. I believe that He uses us as we dream about the direction we are headed. Without a plan or a list you might miss out on some of the things that you want to accomplish or that He wants to accomplish through you. A plan helps you to keep track, so that your dreams will truly come to pass. A plan helps you to keep up with all that you want to do. The things you want to accomplish are not always expensive and unattainable. My wife and I can dream together…we have learned how to dream about things that we can truly afford to do if we plan carefully. We love to travel but cannot always afford to stay in hotels and eat out at restaurants, so our alternative is to camp. Camping allows us to go places that we never could have afforded otherwise. We also dream of one day living on a boat in a nice marina. We have talked and dreamed…we are willing to buy an older boat and fix it up the way that we want it in order to accomplish this dream. Our dreams are not so far out that we illusively chase them and never seem to make headway. We have learned to totally focus on the dream, and the details with careful planning, always seem to work themselves out.

Are you a dreamer? I hope that you are and I would love to hear from you…

What are your dreaming about? Peace!

Walking in this world
In the city…in the country
we all walk through this world

Temptations haunt us
People daunt us…but our walk continues

People, places, attitudes and actions
Walking through life, head up, shoulders squared,
jaw set…walking

Feeling pressure, receiving platitudes
why do I feel so unprepared?
Is the walk worth it, can I even make it
where can I turn to, who can I trust…

The walk continues, highways, byways, towns, cities…
We walk; constantly moving…in motion…perpetual motion

Head spinning, mind reeling…looking for peace…peace that
comes from not conforming to worldly patterns…peace from walking

Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.
Ephesians 4:32

Is kindness is short supply? Lately I have been amazed at the way people treat one another. From the ongoing political melee that drones incessantly on our televisions to the way that people conduct them selves in traffic. What has happened to compassion?

I have been thinking and praying daily over the condition of our once civil country. I am truly concerned for my grandchildren’s future. I think about the church and my involvement. I know that we are teaching kindness and compassion but it does not seem to be transferring into everyday life. I can’t seem to shake the fact that in many ways, we as the body of Christ are failing to be relevant in modern culture.

Please don’t miss understand me this morning, I do know that God is Sovereign and in total control. I also know that nothing surprises Him and that He knows the condition of the world as well as the condition of the church. My concern is for the believer. I am just a little overwhelmed because many believers are truly missing out on many steps of the journey that God set before them.

Before I go any further…let me explain a few things…I am not disgruntled or upset. It is with deep Holy Spirit leading that I am thinking through this process and writing this blog. I am looking for answers so that I can encourage the people that I lead to move in a direction that will correct a problem. I am concerned that we are not doing everything possible to reach a dark world for Christ. I love the Church and my relationship with Christ is deeper and stronger today than it ever has been. I just want more for God’s people.

There is a longing deep within my soul to see and develop something significant. Something that it going to make a difference. I truly want to reach a lost world and I am convinced that is going to come through the truth of God’s word and compassion. I am praying for real revival, a movement of God that changes the way that we live and treat one another

I want to ask you a question.

Have we forgotten how to truly feel and have compassion for our fellowman?

Think about this question for more than a minute.

In many ways the American dream has truly cancelled out the compassion that we are to feel for others. People seem to be so busy looking out for number one and accumulating the stuff that they think will make them happy. Personal agenda’s have over rode the time we actually spend being the church and then our relationship with Jesus begins to wane and our happiness goes along with our enthusiasm to worship, serve and obey. When this happens, we fail to take the time to reach outside of the walls of our buildings and effect change in the world. Scripture teaches us “not to conform to the patterns of this world” yet so many times we find ourselves conforming.

Many times we find our self working for stuff. We seem to forget that less is more, we forget that Jesus never had a place to lay his head and yet He accomplished so much. This persistent problem that believers deal with truly breaks my heart because it is having a negative effect on the Evangelical Church in North America. It is so easy to look out into the world and see so many people who are truly hurting. I meet people who lack spiritual direction everyday. These seekers many times just need to hear about Jesus and how the His power has changed your life and can truly offer hope.

Never before have so many people been searching for the peace that surpasses all understanding.

Never before are we as the body of Christ missing such great opportunities to proclaim the glorious gospel to a world that truly seems to be searching.

To many believers have created their own agenda. We seem to pick and choose those spiritual hot topics that we totally sell out to and if a the lost world is not willing to believe the way that we do…we shun them…losing opportunities to be salt an light in a bland and dark world.

Something has to change…What has God called you to do? What are you willing to do to make sure that His calling on your life is carried out?

I love you all with the love of the Lord<><

I love waking up at first light. There is something very special about this quiet time of the day. Walking the docks near my house allows me some time to think about the day ahead and gives me an opportunity to make plans. It also allows me a peaceful unconnected period of time to spend with my savior. This in it self is worth getting out of bed for and I highly recommend it for everyone.

This morning, as I looked out across the St. Johns River, I could not help but be overcome with emotion as I was simply mesmerized by the beauty of God’s creation. I was feeling somewhat overwhelmed and my condition did not change as I left the house for work. As I was driving down Highway 17 I could not help trying to steal glances of the river as I drove. For some reason, the river draws me, there is something about this body of water that has always had a strange effect on me. It symbolizes so many things for me and my life. It is big and powerful, it is unchanging but at the very same time…it is never really the same. It is one of those things in life that is truly hard to explain. Many people have places like this, places they feel very much a part of. For almost 30 years, this beautiful river has been very much a part of my life. I have sailed on it, powered through it, fished it’s depths, swam in it’s shoals and once almost died in it’s awesome power. The river knows me very well, and I some how think that if it is truly possible, I feel that I know the river. It is like an old friend to me. As I was arriving at work these thoughts and memories permeated my brain bringing up memories of wonderful times past.

Getting into the office, I remembered a hospital visit that I needed to make across town. The same emotion that I felt earlier in the day returned as I was driving across the Buckman bridge which crosses a 3.1 miles portion of the river. I could not help but feel the draw again. There is something about the water that draws me…it overcomes me. It did not help my situation as I looked to the south, I could make out beautiful white sails making way south on the light morning wind…Zach Brown’s song “Just as free” rang out in my mind…I pondered this emotional predicament for a moment, and was quickly reminded by the Holy Spirit, that I am free. Scripture teaches, “It was for freedom…that Christ set me free”. This is a special freedom. It is a freedom that no government can guarantee. This is a freedom that no man can take away. This is a freedom from God Himself. I in this moment was reminded that my life had been bought and paid for with a price…it cost my Savior, His life. So I am free…I am free as I will ever be. The hold and bondage that the world has on many will not work on me. I am free because my life has been changed and I will never again be in bondage to the world. Man…what a Savior! I love you all<>< Be FREE!

Sheila and I had a great opportunity this past weekend to take a little trip to Orlando and spend some time with family. It was our first camping trip since Sheila’s surgery so I was a little anxious about how it was all going to workout. What a wonderful trip this turned out to be. Sheila did amazingly well and I am certain that she is happy to be camping again. Not a bad trip considering that she is only one month post total hip replacement. Another point of concern for us was the fact that we were not able to get into one of the State Parks in the area. State Parks Camping is always our first choice so we were a little disappointed when finding out there were no sites available for our fairly spontaneous trip. We really love and enjoy the park system in the great state of Florida. It is truly is second to none. The only problem with Florida State Parks is that many more people are finding how nice the parks actually are and I believe because of the down economy, families are beginning to utilize the parks because of the savings. So if you are planning a camping trip to the sunshine state, careful thinking is required (sometimes as far out as 11 months) to guarantee that you will get a site at a park in the area you are visiting.

So, since we could not get into our first choice and stay at Lake Louisa or Lake Griffin, we turned to the old internet (a campers friend) and searched for commercial camping sites in the Orlando area. We decided to stay at Fort Summit, a KOA campground right off Interstate 4 (exit 55) and US highway 27 (South). Access to the park was amazing easy. The people at Fort Summit were knowledgeable and fairly helpful as we signed in. Parking for guest registration was not clearly marked, so we had to circle around one time before we understood what they wanted us to do. The tent sites also were not so clearly laid out, but once we finally figured out where our site actually was, set up was a snap. We were less than 40 yards from a very well maintained bathhouse, with lots of hot water. We also found that there were many restaurants near by (with in 2 miles) and since we were only there for two nights we had decided that we would just eat out. For Sheila and I, this is really much easier than trying to prepare food and having to deal with the clean up. So we decided to just enjoy the area, and try out some of the local restaurants. The pool area at the campground was a little dated, but nicely maintained and the water was warm (even for mid march). There were many campers in the water were enjoying the sun. We also found a dated game room, but who can complain. We even enjoyed a little game of ping pong, before making our way back to the tent. The wifi was kind of spotty, even thought the KOA touts free wifi, it was a little slow and somewhat cumbersome. But in reality I guess I am pretty spoiled in the fact that my home and office has extremely fast internet connections, and after thinking about it, I do not camp for the internet connections anyway, I just wanted you who may really have to be connected to be aware. All in all, our experience was wonderful, I will stay at Fort Summit again and would have no problems recommending Fort Summit to my friends and family.

Sheila and I also very much enjoyed eating at Santa Fe Cattle Company on US 27 in Clermont. The food was wonderful, plentiful and well worth the wait. Food prices were very reasonable and the appetizers are amazing. Next time I go, I am going to get the Chips and Queso for my meal. It was the best that I have ever had! Great place to eat and if you are on a budget, there is plenty of food so sharing an entree should be enough when you consider the bread and peanuts.

We also enjoyed downtown Disney. Parking is free and getting around is fairly easy, and Wolfgang Pucks express has wonderful fare at reasonable prices. Like anything in Orlando, if you do not mind waiting in a long line for a little bit, you wait will be greatly rewarded.

It was a wonderful weekend, I love to camp and travel, and I am learning and sharing tips of my trips hopefully that will help you in your travels…

Happy Camping!