Tonight we attended the Saturday night worship service at General Assembly in Orlando. Dr. James Diehl preached a powerful message on Jesus the Healer. He shared about his own healing from cancer several years ago, and about his son's death from cancer exactly 1 year ago this week. It was the most powerful and balanced message on healing I've ever heard. At the close of the service there were so many people coming forward for healing that Dr. Diehl had to call for 100 more ministers to come forward to assist with the prayer time!

As great as Dr. Diehl's message was, the most significant moment of the night for me came from my youngest daughter Mia.

As we sat listening to Dr. Diehl, Mia was sitting on my lap. Towards the end of the message, Mia looks up at me and says, "Dad, we prayed for God to take away my nightmares."

You see about 2 months ago Mia was having nightmares every night. This had gone on for several weeks and was causing her so much fear that she would refuse to go to bed at night. So we gathered as a family and prayed for God to take away her nightmares. From that day on she has slept peacefully without a single bad dream.

As I reflected on the significance of my 4 year old realizing that God heals us, I was moved at how God had helped her to make the connection between the message, her life and God's activity.

So I asked Mia, "Did God take away your bad dreams?"

She replied, "Yup, He did...God hears us when we pray...right dad!"

Yes he does, Mia...yes he does!

* We checked out of our 1,700 sq ft rental house and into an 200 sq ft hotel room with 2 super single beds. It's raining now...rain...200 sq ft...5 people...we're making the best of it.

After 4 days and 3 theme parks this is how we're spending today.

* Spent the day at Disney World's Magic Kingdom today.
* It was the first time anyone from our family had been to the Magic Kingdom.
* Wicked hot & crazy crowded.
* Still it was a blast...so much to learn from what happens at Disney.
* Here are some pics from today...taken from my cell phone so forgive the quality.

* Loving being on vacation with my family!
* This is really only the 2nd actual family vacation we've ever taken!
* Last year we went to Chicago for 3 days.
* This year we decided to hit up Orlando for a week of family vacation before the start of General Assembly next week.
* Steph's a delegate to the General Assembly this year and we wanted our girls to get a chance to see the International flavor of the Church of the Nazarene so decided it would be cool to throw in some theme park fun too!
* We left last Wednesday and spent the night in Georgia with our friends Jon & Leah Lewis and their kids...got to hit up some Five Guys too...so it was a great day!
* Finished our trip to Orlando on Thursday, and checked into our home away from home. We rented a home for the first few days in town before we move over to the conference hotel on Tuesday.
* Friday, we checked out Sea World...very cool...loved the dolphin show, and Shamu...we sat in the front row for Shamu and got soaked!
* Saturday, we drove over Tampa Bay to visit Busch Gardens. I loved this park! So much so we'll probably go back for a day before we head back home...we picked up 14 day passes to Busch, SeaWorld, and Aquatica so we're hoping to put them to good use.
* Sunday, we spent most of the day at the house...slept in...went to church online (thanks Rick Otey for the copy of todays service at BridgeWay)...swam a lot...watched UP in 3D...and caught some Father's Day dinner at Perkins (Brenna wanted breakfast for dinner).
* My girls got me a new Fossil wallet & a cool piece of wall art for my office...I love being a dad!
* Missed our friends at BridgeWay, but heard they were in good hands!
* Looking forward to Disney World tomorrow...then General Assembly later this week. Can't wait to see several friends at GA & to see us possibly elect our first international General Superintendent...could be an historic assembly.
* Here are some pics of our trip so far!

* Week 2 of One Prayer today with a message from Perry Noble at NewSpring Church called "God is...Here".
* Quote of the day was overheard by my friend Rick "This guy is a nut case, but he's funny so he's alright...I like him."
* Perry's message was a great reminder that God has given us the ability to live in victory. I'm convinced that too few of us actually live in the victory that we have been given through Christ.
* I am so thankful for the reminder that God is "with me always, even unto the end of the age."
* Great worship set today...strong songs about Jesus and his victory.
* I loved having Jake Smith drumming today. It's great to have him back from college and having him play drums for the first time at BridgeWay. He was our first bass player back in the Bertha Frank days...even though he really wanted to drum. Great young man who has always displayed a maturity beyond his years.
* I'm constantly amazed at how many gifted leaders God has brought to BridgeWay. From our worship teams, to our welcome teams, cafe teams, children's ministry teams, small group leaders, and CR team...we are blessed as a church.
* Got to meet several people who are new to the church today...haveing a week off from preaching gives me a chance to talk with people I would normally not get a chance to see.
* With the Sunday off from preaching I also noticed that there are some people I haven't seen in a few weeks.
* One of the people who was missing today was Matt Robinson our Equipping Pastor. He and a pretty big group traveled to Kokomo, Indiana to cast the vision for church planting, and the Pekin Campus to Kokomo First Church of the Nazarene (Matt's home church). They led worship in their two morning worship services, and then led the evening service as well.
* Thanks to Kokomo First and their leadership for their willingness to partner with us on reaching people for Christ!
* Today was Steph and my 12th Anniversary! Impossible to believe it's actually been 12 years. Next to what Christ has done for me, you're the best thing that's ever happened to me!
* We had dinner out at Texas Roadhouse for our Anniversary dinner...love that place and the sweet potatoes!
* Getting pretty pumped to be heading to Orlando, FL with my family on Wednesday morning for a week of vacation, then another week at General Assembly!
* It's been a crazy few weeks around BridgeWay for all of our staff and volunteer leaders...thanks for all you do! Can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to some focused time with my family...they deserve it! I love our church, but I love my family even more.
* We'll be hitting up Disney's Magic Kingdom, SeaWorld, Bush Gardens, Aquatica, and several other sights before the start of General Assembly...we've rented a vacation house and are looking forward to spending a few days just lounging at the pool too! Praying for good weather!
* I'll definitely miss being with everyone at BridgeWay for the next 2 Sundays...but trust me you'll be in good hands...we've got a great staff and leadership team!
* Have a great week!

* Kicked off ONE PRAYER series today with a message titled: God is...on a mission.
* Loved last year's ONE PRAYER series so much that we are partnering with 1,700 other churches again this year.
* Last year BridgeWay gave enough to help start 2 new churches as a part of the ONE PRAYER offering...I love it when people live generously...I'm praying we can help start at least 2 if not 3 churches this year.
* I can't tell you just how good the band was today...the worship set was perfect for the day, and the closing song was one of my favorites (and Helena's too by the way).
* The set was: Joy (Three 63), Salvation is Here (Hillsong United), Mighty to Save (Hillsong), Glory to God (Fee & others), and we closed with We Shine (Fee again).
* We had a great stage set built for ONE PRAYER, and will be able to use it for several other series...looked great! Our summer intern Kyan Glenn did a great job with the building of the set...he's been a great addition to our team for the summer.
* Had 3 people accept Christ in our 11am worship experience...that never gets old!
* Cool story behind them accepting Christ...just can't write about it here.
* I felt really good about the message today.
* I'm excited to focus on the character of God over the next few weeks...I'm convinced that every spiritual dysfunct we face is rooted in a distortion of who God is...people are going to get some help in this series!
* Great second week for Celebrate Recover this weekend...I'm excited to be helping to lead worship this Saturday night at CR with some guys who I used to play with every week a few years ago.
* Enjoyed going fishing on Friday (my usual day off) with Dave from church...we caught bass all day long...I think 23 in all...and a pretty big catfish...great fun!
* Performed another wedding on Saturday for Derek and Kayte...great couple, great wedding, just a great day.
* It's been a day of highs and lows for me...great morning of worship at BridgeWay, and a great lunch with the Kohlers at Alexander's Steakhouse...then I heard tonight that a pastor I respected and who has helped us improve as a portable church resigned this morning due to a moral failure...I am continually being reminded of the need to live a life of integrity and to guard my heart.
* Looking forward to lunch tomorrow with my buddy Jesse from Real Life Church in Marquete Heights...and a little Chicago Hut (love that place)!
* Now finishing the night off with a little Guitar Hero with Helena and Brenna...then the last quarters of Game 2 of the NBA Finals.
* Can't wait to be with you all again next Sunday!

* Closed our our Hostage series today with a message about "Breaking Free from Hang-Ups".
* Preached on the story of the woman at the well from John4.
* People usually think the story is about the woman, but I'm convinced that Jesus was also dealing with the hang up of legalism that so many people deal with.
* I know a lot of Christians who are more concerned with their personal piety than the broken people living around them...this is a real issue that I deal with on a personal level.
* Great summer crowd today...roughly 350 in worship...even with a good group gone to share about our Pekin Campus launch with Ottawa First Nazarene.
* We sent Matt, Chuck, Kevin, Ryan, Dave, Brit, Rhonda, and a couple other families to Ottawa to share what God has been doing at BridgeWay, and to share how they could help us launch another site in Pekin.
* Thanks to Brian Wangler for allowing our team to share this vision with your congregation...and thanks for receiving our team so well.
* Also, thanks for the generous love offering that will cover 1 round of marketing for our fall launch.
* So proud of our Celebrate Recovery Team!
* Saturday night was the kickoff for our Celebrate Recovery ministry at BridgeWay.
* Great first meeting, and a great group of volunteer leaders...and some powerful testimonies of how God is using CR to set people free from addictions and hang-ups.
* Can't wait to see how God uses this ministry!
* I have a couple of big meetings tomorrow...prayers would be appreciated.
* Next Sunday we kick off a new series called "One Prayer"...don't miss it...see you there!

Acts 27:11 "But the centurion, instead of listening to what Paul said, followed the advice of the pilot and of the owner of the ship"

How often have people headed into shipwreck because they refused to listen to the word of God. As a pastor one of the most difficult things to do is to warn people of the potential for shipwreck if they continue in the direction they are heading, and to watch them ignore clear direction from Scripture. Somehow they have convinced themselves that they are a special case. That they can ignore the warning signs and come out okay in the end.

Question, what storm are you getting ready to sail into that Scripture would have you avoid, but you've convinced yourself, "I'm a special case"?

Acts 25:2-3 "when the chief priests and Jewish leaders appeared before him and presented the charges against Paul. they urgently requested Festus, as a favor to them, to have Paul transferred to Jerusalem, for they were preparing an ambush to kill him along the way."

It has always amazed me what people are willing to do in the name of defending and protecting their established way of life. I've found this to be true in the lives of individuals when they are trying to protect a sinful behavior or habit in their lives as well. They are so tied to their old way of life that any threat to it must be taken out. I've seen people with addictions to alcohol harm the very people who are trying to help them discover the truth about their situation. All in an effort to protect an old way of life.

What old way of life or habit are you protecting by attacking the people who are trying to help you discover the truth?