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Daylight Saving Time (DST) is used to save energy and make better use of daylight. It was first used in 1908 in Thunder Bay, Canada. DST is a seasonal time change measure where clocks are set ahead of standard time during part of the year, usually by one hour. As DST starts, the sun rises and sets later on the clock than the day before.

Today, about 40% of countries worldwide use it to make better use of daylight and to conserve energy.

So here we go...…

Friday 

I began the day by taking Bentley to get groomed and while he was getting fixed up I walked across the square to get myself groomed.  I learn so much about Franklin every time I get a haircut.  I encourage everyone to shop local! These businesses have had to deal with a lot with all of the COVID restrictions.  They could use our support.  Then I headed to Portland to have breakfast with Pastor Ricky Morris, love this brother!  We have been friends since middle school and I am so thankful to partner with him and Living Free to plant a church in Franklin. Did some office work the rest of the afternoon.  DeAnna had a girl’s night out with her friend, Jennifer Pelfrey.  She had a filet at Jimmy Kelly’s and I had a can of soup from Campbell’s.  They had a blast catching up and I am sure the whole restaurant could hear them laughing. 

Saturday

Saturday morning I had breakfast with Pastor Bobby Joe Forshee at Rylan’s.  If you want an awesome breakfast head this way, it is worth the drive.  Pastor Forshee worked for the city of Franklin and has started and built churches all over south-central Kentucky.  It was great to connect with this champion of the faith and hear his stories of planting churches. He serves with another denomination and we sat at the same table as we ate and fellowshipped together.  See how that works!  Kinda like heaven, don’t be surprised if you don’t see your church’s sign on the pearly-gates.  In the afternoon, our daughter, Danielle passed through town on the way to the beach with some of her long-time friends from school.  I love the fact that she is so close with these great gals and that they intentionally stay connected.  DeAnna made us a taco salad and we talked for a bit before she had to head out.

 Sunday

Did not have a service scheduled this weekend so we were at Living Free.  I loved being able to play bass on the praise team. I now have two blisters since it’s been a while since I have played.  When I first started doing anything at the church it was playing the bass. I was so inexperienced that the piano player, Carol, would reach back and turn my amp off, eventually she left it on.  Pastor Aaron Pollard preached a great message.  This young man of God is going to do amazing things for the Kingdom.  Daylight savings time stinks!  I came home from church and took a nap.

“Daylight Saving Time: Only the government would believe that you could cut a foot off the top of a blanket, sew it to the bottom, and have a longer blanket.”  — Anonymous

Above all, continue in love and excellence! 

God is able to do far more than you would dare to ask or even dream of. Ephesians 3:20 says," Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us," Through faith, God-given dreams become reality. Nothing happens until dreams and faith start working together!

So here we go...

Friday

After being on the road all week in East Tennessee meeting with pastors and leaders sharing the vision of Restoration Church, I had quite a bit of office work waiting on me. By the way, DeAnna and I and a group of amazing people are planting a church in Franklin, Kentucky.  Want to learn more go to www.restorationfranklin.church As I worked in the office, there was a lot of clicking of the mouse to try to get some checks on my checklist. Some days it seems like you complete a million little things, but you don’t get anything accomplished. Anybody know that feeling!? As Will Durant once said, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.” Every Friday DeAnna and I try to do a date night.  It is not always out at a fancy place, sometimes it is just a relaxed evening at home, but it is “purposeful togetherness”.  This week we went to a local Franklin restaurant, Brickyard Cafe. Great atmosphere, great food, and great service!  This place is great! After a great meal Mama D wanted some Dairy Queen so guess where we went, to get that girl a blizzard.  I’m a bit of a communist, I don’t like ice cream, but I do like apple pies and I’m ok with Chevrolet. 

Saturday

DeAnna went to spend time with her Mom and Dad for her Mom’s birthday. I had to stay at the house and get some work done; nothing eventful, just had to wrap up the week and prepare for the coming week.  We did end up coming down the hill into Tennessee to celebrate with our adopted family and dear friends the birthday of Jeremy Chapdelaine.  I say, adopted family. I really adopted them; not sure if it is supposed to work that way, but I’ll see you on Thanksgiving!

Sunday

We attended our PAC (parent-affiliated church) Living Free Church, this church is filled with some amazing people!  I am so thankful to partner with them to plant a church. Pastor Ricky preached a message on The Consistency of What, I would encourage you to go to “The YouTube” and watch this message. I finished the day prepping for my first colonoscopy.  Things change when you hit 50, these doctors start looking for stuff in places no one has ever seen before.  The prep was called “go-lightly”. I will go on the record, that is false advertising!  Hate to end on a crappy note… sorry couldn’t resist.  

Above all, continue in love and excellence!

So here we go….

Friday, I was up early to do a final walkthrough in Hendersonville. For those who may not know or have forgotten, I am a Realtor. It is what I do full-time to provide for my family and enables me to do what God has called me to do, which is plant a church in Franklin, Kentucky. The new church plant does not pay me; I work so that I can plant and launch strong. SO…. (insert shameless plug) If you are looking to buy or sell or know someone that is, give me a call. It is what I do! Then went to a closing on a listing that sold before I could put a sign in the yard. As, Lieutenant Colonel/Colonel John "Hannibal" Smith on The A-Team television series often said, “I love it when a plan comes together!” I went to Staples and Sam’s to get supplies for our launch team meeting, which is very similar to getting a root canal for me. DeAnna and I had a very exciting date night at the Franklin Manor in our PJ’s watching Netflix.

Saturday, I was up early and out to Goodlettsville to help my dear friends Joe and Pam Case move to their new house in Hendersonville.  You know there’s a deep friendship if I help someone move. We have covered some territory on our faith journey with this couple.  Saturday night, we had our launch team interest meeting. I am so thankful for those who have come alongside us to help launch Restoration Church. There was a tangible excitement in the room. Get ready! God is about to do some great things in Franklin. We need more help! If DeAnna and I have impacted your life in any way, you feel like you should help, sell your house and move to Franklin today (I can help you list it). Seriously, move! EVERYONE can help in some way. Reach out to us to see how you can help.

Sunday, I attended Center Point Church in Bowling Green with Pastor Jacob and Kristen Holmes. Great church! It was a monsoon.  I was met immediately by a parking lot attendant with an umbrella (this IS a ministry) who walked me to a front door and introduced me to the folks at the door. They greeted me and stayed with me until I found a seat. Great service! The same greeter found me and thanked me for being with them. I’ve been to many churches; this one was next level in their desire to connect. Great things ahead for this church!  I had not made it out of the parking lot when my old friend and the founding pastor, Dave Deerman, called me. We had a great conversation catching up with what we are planning to do in Franklin. One of our launch team couples, Taylor and Adriana Wiley (there are great things ahead for this quality couple) and I, decided to give Smokey Bones a try for lunch. We were not disappointed. I was almost in a meat coma when I left, and their baked beans will be served at the marriage supper of the lamb.  We spent an uneventful afternoon and evening getting ready for the coming week. 

Above all, continue in love and excellence!

Last week I ran across a blog post article entitled, Max Lucado, Apologizes for Same-Sex Marriage Sermon He Gave in 2004, written by Jesse T. Jackson on ChurchLeaders.com. To give you a little of the back story, the article explains that Pastor Lucado preached at the Washington National Cathedral on February 7, 2021, and urged listeners to “just say yes and welcome the presence of the Holy Spirit into your life.” Later in the week, Dean Hollerith issued an apology for inviting Pastor Lucado. After that, apologies were issued—one even penned by Lucado himself. In the letter, the guest preacher apologized for a sermon he preached in 2004 that revolved around the topic of same-sex marriage.

First of all, this is NOT a political post. I avoid making divisive social media posts and do not plan on writing about polarizing topics. It is my goal to be authentic, positive, and practical. As I read the New Testament, one of the refrains that resonate repeatedly is the Apostles' call to unity. James rebukes the congregation for their internal disputes (James 4:1), Paul preaches against racial divides (Galatians 2) and tribal tendencies (1 Corinthians 3:4), Peter urges his audience to embrace “likemindedness” (1 Peter 3:8), and John is at the end of his life beckoning the people of God to live out the ethic of love (1 John 3:11-24). This blog post is not about same-sex marriage, it is about our excessive need to be acknowledged, recognized, and accepted by an immoral, iniquitous, antireligious horde. 

We Can Not Allow the Secular to Control the Sacred

Truthfully, I’m not sorry! In this cancel-culture (which is a modern form of social shunning, in which someone is thrust out of social or professional circles – either online on social media, in the real world, or both) we are allowing the secular to crowd-control the sacred.

We betray a lack of faith in God’s power to bring redemption and restoration when we don’t allow people’s past words to be something in their past. Thank God I did not have a Twitter account when I was a teenager, I had a Ph.D. in inappropriateness. I have preached a host of messages that I am sorry for, my attitude, my lack of preparedness, my loveless delivery, and it would go back long before 2004. But what I am not sorry for is a biblical viewpoint that flies in the face of post-Christian culture. I am deeply sorry if, as an imperfect individual, I mess up and offend. Still, I am not sorry for the scriptures' authenticity and offensiveness to an immoral lifestyle or worldview.

What we are doing is counter-cultural and will never be met with universal approval. No matter your theological position, all your views as a Christian are counter-cultural and should be. If your beliefs are cultural, you’re probably going with the preverbal flow.

When it is all said and done, we should walk in love, and live to attain to this scripture:

“Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.” Philippians 1:27