What’s Up With The ‘Stros

June 28, 2007 / danny777 / Leave a comment

I am never one to dog my favorite team, but what is going on with the Astros? Can they turn their season around?

A read where Tim Purpura is going to make some changes in the line up once Bigio gets his 3000th hit. Burke will see more playing time and I agree, that is a good move. Give Burke a chance to play and hit. He’s a hustler, he will add some spark to the line up. Many say, “well he is not a power hitter.” You cannot have everyone in the line up be a power hitter. We have Carlos Lee, Lance Berkman, Hunter Pence, even Luke Scott has power… Morgan Ensberg used to but now it is time to give his spot to Lamb.

I am not an expert on running a baseball team but there is a consistent trend here…starting pitchers are keeping us in the game but the bullpen has blown it. They have allowed 32 runs in the last 21 innings. We need a different strategy.

Good luck Astros, even if you are in last place you will still be my team!

Tuesday Morning

June 26, 2007 / danny777 / Leave a comment

Have you ever had things happen on Tuesday that felt like it should happen on Monday?

Things started off good. Up at 3:00am, couldn’t sleep so I got up and did some work and had my devotional time. We had a good men’s breakfast this morning. It is always enjoyable to have breakfast with the men of the church. Good conversations and good food.

I came into the office and I can’t get our New Copier/Network printer to work. It is one of those things that it works when it wants to…it just doesn’t work like you want it to. It won’t recognize the paper, it won’t recognize the paper and it won’t recognize the paper. The moral of the story is it won’t copy or print. You expect this stuff to happen to old equipment not new equipment.

Now I will tell you that it is probably something that I did to make it act this way. But it is frustrating. I feel like I am on a constant test of my patience. I thought about hitting it with a hammer, but I don’t think the insurance will cover that. Patience is something that God is trying to work in all of us. He allows copy machines to act up, people to be rude to us or even a driver to cut us off on the freeway. Just so we can learn a little more patience.

The lesson I am learning is that if I will be a little more patient in this life, things won’t bother me near as much. When things crimp my workflow, I am just learning to go with the flow. Patience is meant to be a virtue, but I have let it become an issue. I am learning to let God work in me and help me deal with the stress of little things as they come.

Feeling Good!

June 21, 2007 / danny777 / Leave a comment

It’s Thursday morning and normally this is the crunch day. Feeling the pressure of getting everything done for Sunday. Thursday and Friday are usually the High Energy days for me. But I’m feeling good this week. It’s Thursday morning and I am already finished with my two Sunday Sermons. Life is good! I might just take tomorrow off.

We have our monthly board meeting tonight. We will have dinner at Cowboy Red’s then take time for our business. I thank God for a good group of men to work with. We are fortunate and blessed to have Godly men on our board.

On another note: Why can’t the Astro’s hold a lead? Up 4 to 2 and then give up 6 runs in 1 inning. Relief pitching has a tough time in the Astro’s organization. But holding a lead is also tough in a church. We can be up 4 to 2 and in a matter of time we can begin to lose. We have to learn how to hold the lead. We can gain new families and have them attend for several weeks but if they are not assimilated they leave and we lose the lead.

Just like in baseball, relief pitching is the key. It takes all of us, not just the pastor, to maintain the growth of the church. It takes every member embracing and going out of their way to build relationships with new families. It does not matter if we think we are too busy for more friends…we must stretch ourselves and take every opportunity to build the kingdom of God. Go ahead invite someone to church Sunday and while your at it invite someone from the church out to dinner this week. It will do you good!

Letting Go

June 19, 2007 / danny777 / Leave a comment

It is hard some times to let our kids go. Part of the maturity process for children is giving them a little more freedom. Josh is 13, he is a great kid. I am not just saying that because he is mine…well maybe I am saying that becuase he is mine. He is a great kid and I trust him to make the right decisions in life. But letting them go to a friends house overnight is tough. You spend alot of time pouring into their lives to make sure when the time comes, they will do the right thing.

I am picky who Josh hangs around. The friend he is with is a good kid from a great family. But having said all that, it doesn’t make it easier to let Josh go. Last night after we dropped him off, Sonya and I came to a conclusion, “our son is growing up.”

Part of parenting is having to let go. I let go for this moment, but it is still my responsibility to instill in Josh the character of Christ. I am not ready to cut the reins yet. As long as he lives in my house I will hang onto him as much as I can. But there are occasions that our kids need to know that we trust them. This helps them to be more careful not to break that trust.

Monday Morning

June 18, 2007 / danny777 / Leave a comment

Here it is Monday morning again. A start for another week getting ready for Sunday. It seems that there is the same deadline every week. Wednesday sermon…Sunday morning Sermon…Sunday night sermon. It is the weekly grind. It will start over a week from today. Although it is a revolving deadline, I wouldn’t trade it for any thing in the world. I love ministry. The work that we do makes an eternal difference. Regardless of the demands we have, ministry is the best thing going.

On another note: how about them Astros? Finally, they might be coming around. They swept the Mariners now they look forward to LA. I was glad they called Chris Burke back to the majors. By far he is my favorite Astro. But the team as a whole is doing better. Hunter Pence is the man and all the others are starting to hit well. Keep it up boys!

Another Crazy Week

June 15, 2007 / danny777 / Leave a comment

Let’s see, Men’s Breakfast Tuesday and then a crazy day in the office. Wednesday was a day long meeting at the District Office. Thursday, had a sectional committee meeting and finished the day with our monthly Senior Supper. I am not a senior but by default of my position, I am allowed to go. Today I came in at six to try to get caught up and get my sermon for Sunday ready.

As I left this morning, Sonya said that she missed me. (we haven’t seen each other much this week). I told her that next week would be better, but she reminded me that I say that every week.

Ministry is a joy but at times it is a hectic schedule. The unsung heroes in ministry are the pastor’s wives. They have to take the back burner sometime while their husband does kingdom work. While pastors often fellowship together during our meetings, it is the pastor’s wives who rarely enjoy fellowship with their peers. They are the ones taking care of the kids while the pastor is away from home. My hats off to pastor’s wives and I pray that God will help us pastors balance family life and ministry. Some weeks I do a great job at it, some weeks it is impossible.

Thanks Sonya for being understanding.

R.I.P. David Stinnett

June 11, 2007June 11, 2007 / danny777 / Leave a comment

Last week I found out about the tragic death of someone very dear to my heart. Although we hadn’t spoken for 14 years, David Stinnett will always be a part of my life. He was a man of God. Well-versed in the Scriptures. At the age of 32 he had a command on God’s Word like had never heard. It was under David Stinnett’s ministry that I gave my heart to Christ. He led me in the sinner’s prayer at the Alethea Christian Fellowship in La Porte, Texas. He baptized me in a swimming pool on August 3rd, 1991. He introduced me to the Baptism in the Holy Spirit. David will always be special to me. It was him who gave me a hunger to know the Word of God. I would hear him quote Scripture after Scripture without looking at his Bible. He was a learned man.

I am not sure what David’s life was like after those years of our relationship, but I know that his life had ups and downs like the rest of us. My prayer is that he continued to hold fast to the Word of God and to live it until his final days.

A couple of weeks ago, David Stinnett passed away in his sleep at the age of 48. A young man with a shortened life. Life is not guaranteed. Rest in Peace David! Thanks for sharing Christ with me, I am eternally grateful!

Family Devotions

June 6, 2007 / danny777 / Leave a comment

I read a statistic this morning that said only 20 percent of teens say they have parents who pray and study the Bible as a family. This is alarming but not unexpected. If we look at today’s society we can see the fruit of our “Christian” families. Our teenagers are impressionable and will gain their values from somewhere. MTV, sitcoms, music, media or YOU!

What are we investing in our children? I believe that fifteen minutes a day can shape the life of a teen for eternity. If we as parents will dedicate ourselves to pray and read the Bible with our families I would dare say our families would grow closer. If our children know that we are praying with them and for them, they will feel free to come to us when they are facing peer pressure or some other struggle.

It does not have to be a three point sermon at night but rather just share something that God has ministered to you through His Word. Or maybe that is where our problems lie. When we do not study the Word ourselves, it is hard to do that as a family. If you will make prayer and the Word of God a central part of your family, we can change the world one family at a time.

At the Cheney house we have started having family devotion time at night once again. We used to and stopped for a while because there wasn’t “enough time”. Then we realized we just need to make the time. That means setting something aside for fifteen minutes and giving attention to the spiritual direction of our family. You can do the same!

What is more important television or your kids spiritual vision? Sports and athletics or spiritual fitness? Fifteen more minutes of rest or eternal rest? You decide!