Funny Friday Fun

Every Friday I post a video that is funny or fun or just plain enjoyable to watch. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: This is meant to be something enjoyable, if you don't find it funny or enjoyable, then please turn it off.
I didn't make them, I simply shared them. Chill out a bit will ya!

Ridiculous Random Thoughts of the Day!

• Its Thursday...I am not ready for the weekend..still too much to do!
• This day is going crazy...so much still to do before the weekend...
• rode the motorcyle today...made it home just before the rain...I miss my Jeep!
• I got my jeep back tonight...I missed my jeep...welcome home ol' friend.

You can follow my thoughts as they happen on Twitter

Ridiculous Random Thoughts of the Day!

• It is wednesday and the week is about 1/2 over! Yeah!
• Do u ever feel like there isn't enough time in the day?
• Creative meeting @ church....be creative..ready Go!

You can follow my thoughts as they happen on Twitter

Ridiculous Random Thoughts of the Day!

• New Blog Post: A Wild Weekend! tinyurl.com/6mmged
• Did u hear? I broke my jeep. Thank God for fellow jeepers...this could have been much worse!
• Really draggin' today. I probably could take a nap.

You can follow my thoughts as they happen on Twitter

A Wild Weekend!

As you can see from the image at the right, this weekend was a bit crazy.

Of course, that picture is not my actual Jeep...my pictures are a lot worse.

Yes, I broke the jeep. It happens when you try and do things like climb over rocks.

Pastor Dave has been speaking on the invisible, such as spiritual warfare, hell, etc. I certainly am not the type that goes around and blames everything on the devil or God. I end up blamming my own stupidity.

However, when this happened on Saturday and while knowing the cost of repair could be astronomical I remained unusually calm. Then God began orchestrating an amazing order of events.

I made it out of the trail before my Jeep was completely useless. I was able to pull it most of the way back to the cabin. I was then able to use AAA to tow it to the cabin. My friend had AAA that allowed me to tow it from Dorrington to Turlock. I took my Jeep apart on Monday and found the rats nest of metal. I have another friend who came over to take a look and said, "I have all the parts you need. Drop it off at my house and I will fix it for you."

Umm...if that doesn't have God written all over it, I don't know what does. I am not sure why God orchestrated the events the way he did. I will say this, if I had chosen on Saturday to allow this event affect my life emotionally, I truly believe that things would have gone a much different way.

Is that a sign of maturity? I doubt it, but it is definitely a sign of how mighty the God I serve is!

How about you? How mighty is your God?

Funny Friday Fun

Every Friday I post a video that is funny or fun or just plain enjoyable to watch. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: This is meant to be something enjoyable, if you don't find it funny or enjoyable, then please turn it off.
I didn't make them, I simply shared them. Chill out a bit will ya!

My Year Through the Bible...That's All Folks!

I am currently reading through the Book of Luke. It is the 3rd gospel and the final synoptic gospel...which means, yes I have heard all of these stories at least for the second time, if not the third time.

I was reading through Chapter 8, when I came to the story of Jesus casting out the legion of demons and allowed them to possess the herd of pigs. Those pigs then went and drowned in the lake because of the demons.

I have read that story over and over. I have read it before, as well. I never really understood why Jesus would allow a herd of (some say as many as 2000) pigs to die. This is some farmers livelihood.

I decided to spend some time yesterday studying this chapter to see if I could grasp the meaning behind it. I pulled out my commentaries and dusted them off...ok I really just booted up my Libronix software with the commentaries built in. I began to do a search of commentaries to try and see if I could figure this out.

As I read, I realized that the point is not tied to the fact the pigs all died, but rather the village's response. They became scared and angry and asked Jesus to leave.

That is when it hit me. They were more concerned about their stuff, then the man who was saved from the devil...and then it REALLY hit me.

Ouch. Thanks God! I really didn't need to hear that...ok, maybe I did.

It is so easy to pray to God for friends, family members, the homeless guy down the street, the kids in your Sunday school class to be saved. Yet, when God asks us to put our stuff (our money) where our mouth is we begin to squirm in our seats. We become more angry that we would have to give up something (that doesn't really belong to us) for someone else to be saved.

Come on God, you can have 200 pigs, but leave me the rest. That is my tithe. Come on Please God!

Is your hand holding on too tight? Do you need to open up the hand and let stuff go? You and God are the only ones who can answer that question. As for me, I am trying to learn to hold both hands wide open...it sure isn't easy though!

I am really excited now!

Well, the practices have started!

Last week, the troup began practicing for our Christmas Concert, Behold the Lamb of God.

I blogged about it here if you want all the details!

I started attending practices last night to provide sound support and to begin planning out the stage set-up, lighting ideas, etc.

All I can say is, I am excited. I can not wait until the event! It is going to be amazing. Tell all your friends and tell their friends and so on!

My prayers is to see 4000 people see the concert and hear the Christmas message. We are doing 4 shows, so that means we need 1000 people per show to attend. Big Goal? Yes. Impossible Goal? No! Especially with the help of an all-mighty God.

So, look for more information to be coming...website, posters, tickets, etc. that will be available.

Remember, December 20th & 21st, 5pm or 7pm.

See ya there!

Your Dream Job!

Have you ever taken the time to think about your dream job?

What does it look like? What does it allow you to do? Does it pay alot of money? Is it require a huge amount of school? Is it a competitive job market? Could you switch to it later in life?

I have given it great thought. I have shared it with some of you on many occasions and it is no secret.

Yet, I think that sometimes as we begin to think about what our dream job looks like, it can very easily fall back into the "grass is greener on the other side of the fence" mentality.

We look at a career path of a friend or relative or even someone we don't know from a far and we think, now that is something I would love to do. In fact, we can even become obsessive about that new career path and begin preparing our lives to move into that career path. That may or may not be a good thing.

I don't think that changing careers is a bad thing. However, the point I want to make is that sometimes our view of a dream job can be very detached from reality. We often get to see the great parts of a new career, without seeing the problems and frustrations of the new career, until we are in that career.

Of course, every career has good and bad parts, and we as individuals have to decide are the good parts worth it to go through the bad parts?

This has been an amazing lesson that I have been going through over the past few months. I have learned alot about myself and about my current career and "dream career".

This process has given me great insite into who I am and what I truly need to feel fullfilled. I still have not come to a final conclusion in my life, and may not until I meet Jesus in person. However, I do want to leave you with this thought...

Perhaps the dream job you have always hoped for is the one you are doing right now!

Funny Friday Fun

Every Friday I post a video that is funny or fun or just plain enjoyable to watch. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: This is meant to be something enjoyable, if you don't find it funny or enjoyable, then please turn it off.
I didn't make them, I simply shared them. Chill out a bit will ya!

Lactose Intolerant...I don't care!

Lately, we have been testing our youngest with dairy products. We are thinking that he may have a sensitivity to dairy. We are not sure if it is a lactose intolerance or a full blown allergy. What we do know is that when he has it, it doesn't settle well with his stomach.

The other night at dinner, we were having chili and Austin wanted cheese on his chili. We told him that he couldn't have it. He continued to argue with us, telling us how much he really wanted it.

We explained to him the problems that the cheese cause him. That it will give him a stomach ache and that he will be sick the rest of the night. He proceeded to tell us that he didn't care. That he wanted it anyways.

That amazed me. He was willing to endure long term pain for short term pleasure. Why in the world would he want to do that?

Then it hit me. Oh yeah, he's human.

We have to learn not to indulge in short term pleasures to achieve long term pleasures. It is not something we are born with.

Yet, how many of us never learn how? It is amazing how many times, knowing the end result, I choose to do things that bring short term pleasures....like buying something before I have the money, indulging in junk food, etc.

In Jesus' parable of the farmer scattering seed, Jesus explains the seed that is thrown among the thorny ground:

The thorny ground represents those who hear and accept the message, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the cares and riches and pleasures of this life. And so they never grow into maturity.

As Christians we need to be focused on patiently growing our relationship in Him. If we are focused on the short term pleasures of this life, then it will be impossible for us to mature in Him.

Let me encourage you, as I encourage myself, to focus on Christ. The end reward is far greater than the short term pleasure!

What are your priorities?

So what are they? Everyone has them. Maybe you know what they are? Maybe you think you know what they are, but they really aren't.

Here is the deal. We all have priorities in life. The ones we want and the ones we act out in our life. Hopefully they are one in the same, but a lot of the time they criss-cross, overlap or separate from one another.

So, I thought I would share with you my top 5 priorities in life. First, I want to give you a disclaimer....you can't argue with me. These are MY priorities. You may or may not agree with them. Too Bad. However, my wife has ultimate permission to push into my life when I am not living them out in this order:

1. God - My Lord and Savior. This MUST be first and foremost in our life. I quickly find when I don't put God first (and it does happen, way to often) it effects everything else I do. I cannot be affective in the next 4 if I am not doing this one right.
   
2. Autumn - My spouse is very important to me. Next to God, she is the most important person in my life. Imagine if my priorities were the building blocks of life, with God as the foundation. My spouse would be the framing that holds up the rest!
   
3. Children/Family - My boys and my family are amazing. I get so excited when I get to spend time with them. They rejuvenate me and give me the energy I need to work. They give me vision so that I understand why I work and do the things I do.
   
4. Church - For some, this may be difficult to think that I would put my church before my job. The reality is, my church and my church family are more important to me than my job. God gave me my job and he will find me my next one when the time comes. That knowledge gives me the freedom to be there for my church if and when I am needed.
   
5. Job - Let's face it, we all have to work. There are not that many of us who are independently wealthy and don't have to work. For the rest of us, we have to work. Often times, though, we forget and make our job the most important thing in our life. It just simply isn't the case. We do need to work hard, do a good job, and give it our best when we are at work; we also can strive for advancement and increasing responsibility and pay so that we can give our family more. However, it cannot come at a cost of the above 4. If we sacrifice the above for our job, then what are we working for?
   

If you have a different top 5 I would love to hear about them and why you chose yours.

My Year Through the Bible...It finally happened!

Well, it finally happened. I didn't see it coming, but it happened. I learned a lot about the process that it takes to make it happen.

I am pretty excited that it happened. I decided I wanted to share it with everyone.

As you know, one of my goals this year is to read the Bible from cover to cover. It has been a pretty cool experience. I have been reminded through some of my readings about the areas in my life that I need to focus on. It has helped with my prayer time being more consistent. It has done a lot for me.

One thing that it had not done for me, ever, until now, is answer a specific question that I had for God.

I have read the blogs of people like Perry Noble, Scott Hodge, and many more and have heard about going to the Word for an answer for a specific question. Yet, it had never happened to me before.

The other day, during my study of Matthew, I came with a very specific question and need. I have been really struggling with some decisions in my life and really was feeling frustrated and defeated. In fact, I left work early that day because I was just feeling beat up over it.

I decided to get alone with God and spend some time in my study of the Word. I was reading through Matthew. So, before I started I spent some time with God and just explained how ignorant I am when it comes to discerning God's Will. I asked him to make it very clear to me what I should do with the decision I had to make.

During my reading, the Lord showed me, IN VERY CLEAR TERMS, exactly what I need to do. It was truly amazing.

Now, the secret....I simple had to open up my mind and my heart to hear and read what God wanted me to hear and read. Wow, that was simple. I wish I had thought of that before.

So, I am here to tell you, that if it can happen to me...it can happen to anyone!

Oh, in case you are wondering what the decision was, I will post on that another time!

Santa Cruz

Last Friday, our family loaded up with another family and 8 of us made the trek to Santa Cruz. This completed one of my goals for this year, to do 10 things that I have never done before.

Our friend's parents live there and so we were able to crash at their house.

We spent Saturday at the boardwalk and then back to the house for BBQ steaks and a movie.

Sunday was a leisurely morning and then we packed up. We went down to Aptos to visit my Dad and see his new house.

After that, we began what seemed like the longest drive home ever! When we drove over on Friday, it seemed like we were there in no time. There were no issues, everyone was quiet and "bam!", we were there.

Coming home, we had sick kids, tired kids, cranky kids, hungry parents and tired parents. We had a mix of it all. It seemed like the drive went on and on and on. When we finally got home it was such a wonderful feeling to be back and knowing that I was going to sleep in my own bed again...much like Pastor Dave talked about last week.

Did the drive home ruin the trip. Absolutely not! I had so much fun spending the weekend with my family and friends. I would do it again in a heartbeat!

I admit, I really missed church yesterday. I have blogged in the past, that when I miss church I feel like I miss out on something amazing. However, sometimes you have to spend time with your family and friends. I will be blogging about that tomorrow, when I talk about my priorities in life.

Funny Friday Fun

Every Friday I post a video that is funny or fun or just plain enjoyable to watch. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: This is meant to be something enjoyable, if you don't find it funny or enjoyable, then please turn it off.
I didn't make them, I simply shared them. Chill out a bit will ya!

Thursday Thinkback

Here are some thoughts I have about this last weekend and about the upcoming weekend:

• Pastor Dave spoke about Heaven. Wasn't sure what to expect.
• I really like how Pastor Dave talked about Heaven. I like the approach he used.
• The day seemed kind of weird. Not a lot out of the ordinary was scheduled.
• Tuesday was our brainstorming session. I was in Fresno so I had to conference call in.
• I missed being at our brain storming session live.
• This Sunday, Pastor Dave is talking about Hell.
• I am not going to be there this Sunday.
• No, not because I don't want to hear about Hell.
• I am taking my kids to Santa Cruz this weekend. First Time!
• I just realized I have successfully completed 1 of my goals. I am almost complete with another 1.
• Did I mention I will be missing Sunday? I hate missing a Sunday.
• It seems like every time I miss a Sunday, all the cool stuff happens.

Well, have a great Sunday and I will see ya next week!

Have you seen it yet?

Well, have you?

Autumn and I went to see it last night on the big screen.

Uhhh...wow!

Guys, if you take your wives to see this, bring LOTS of tissues....its a tear jerker... and if you are man enough to admit it...you will need some too.

This is an amazing journey of a man far from God and his marriage who learns how to love his wife all over again, through the help of Jesus; even when his wife will have nothing to do with him.

Don't wait on this one. I am sure it won't be on the large screen much longer. Don't miss it! You do not want to have to wait for it to come out on DVD. It is well worth the $20 bucks to go. Go tonight!

The amazing thing is the Kendrick brothers (through the help of God) have produced another amazing story on a shoe string budget...and you don't even feel it.

See ya at the movies!

Unordinary Post

For those few of you who follow my blog, you know I don't usually write blog posts on the weekend. I typically try and blog during the week, and take the weekends off so I don't feel the pressure of having to write something.

However I was sitting here tonight (Sunday) and was reflecting on this past week:

• I lost our dog on Monday
• I mourned on Tuesday
• I had an awesome meeting with my Pastor on Wednesday
• My day Wednesday went from thinking one way, to thinking a totally different way.
• Autumn's car broke down on Thursday
• I had to work late on Thursday
• Autumn had to miss her "girls night out" because of the car problems.
• Friday was a fairly normal day
• Saturday we had 2 soccer games in the rain.
• Autumn was gone all day for some training with the church
• I spent the day with the boys and took them to a movie
• I would not recommend paying to see Beverly Hills Chihuahua
• We had yet another amazing service on Sunday
• We had an awesome small group tonight.

I sit here now wondering...what can I expect from this week. As you know I am constantly praying for God to Wow me this year...and that is starting to scare me (in a good way).

Well, what ever God has planned for us this week, I know that it certainly won't be boring.

I wish you well this week and I am eager to know how it goes!

Ridiculous Random Thoughts of the Day!

• New Blog Post: Ridiculous Random Thoughts of the Day! tinyurl.com/4z6hnl
• It is stormy and chilly...Fall is definitely here. Off to soccer in the rain.
• Wet soccer games, but the boys did great!
• hanging with my boys today...hmmm I wonder what we'll do.
• Well its official...the boys have decided what w're doing!
• on our way home to meet mom...been a great guys day!
• Hangin at friends watching Ironman. Kids are excited.

You can follow my thoughts as they happen on Twitter

Ridiculous Random Thoughts of the Day!

• 21:15 New Blog Post: Ridiculous Random Thoughts of the Day! tinyurl.com/4y4qsq #
• 08:15 New Blog Post: Funny Friday Fun tinyurl.com/4parg7 #
• 08:24 Good night sleep, payday, friday....I feel a good day coming. #
• 11:03 In a meeting about air pollution with vehicles...man it gets confusing. #
• 14:43 hmmm...no plans tonight...kinda excited about that. Soccer is WAY to early tomorrow. #
• 17:26 just finished helping a friend set the stage for the series...going to be cool. #
• 17:59 the storm is a brewin'....hunker down! #

You can follow my thoughts as they happen on Twitter

Funny Friday Fun

Every Friday I post a video that is funny or fun or just plain enjoyable to watch. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: This is meant to be something enjoyable, if you don't find it funny or enjoyable, then please turn it off.
I didn't make them, I simply shared them. Chill out a bit will ya!

Ridiculous Random Thoughts of the Day!

• New Blog Post: Ridiculous Random Thoughts of the Day! tinyurl.com/4qhyva
• so have u ever started ur day thinking 1 way, and by evening u are thinking the opposite?
• Stressful day...WAY to much to do...way to little time!
• Watchin the Saddleback Civil Forum, learning a lot about Obama

You can follow my thoughts as they happen on Twitter

Ridiculous Random Thoughts of the Day!

• New Blog Post: Ridiculous Random Thoughts of the Day! tinyurl.com/3stefw
• New Blog Post: Sad Day! tinyurl.com/3u33ku
• back to work...chuggin' along. New hope. We'll see how it goes.
• Lunch with an old friend today. Excited! (I am referring to a friend I have had a long time, not a friend who is old in age) hehe

You can follow my thoughts as they happen on Twitter

Sad Day!

Monday night was a very sad day in the Hicks household. We lost a dear member of our family...my dog, Sadie.

I have had Sadie for over 12 years. She would have been 13 in January. I truly do miss her.

How did she die? It was very unfortunate. She got into the garbage and found a cereal bag. As she was trying to eat the crumbs in the bag, she got the bag caught over her head and she suffocated. I share that unfortunate description for a very important reason. I believe that as she realized what had happened, she came to the back door. The back door was open. There was only a screen between her and me (who was sitting in a recliner 10 feet away). I sat there oblivious as my loving, obedient, pet was dying.

For me that was the hardest part of the whole experience.

I spent all day Tuesday at home, I was very melancholy. Then God did something that amazed me...as he always does! He showed me that what I did with Sadie, is something that we Christians sometimes do with others.

We can be sitting in church, at work, with friends, in a supermarket (or anywhere for that matter) minding our own business and the person next to us could be suffocating in sin, debt, depression, etc. We get so busy in our own lives, that we don't hear their struggles...we don't notice there gasps for air, and yet when they die in their sins or struggles we are surprised to hear it.

Let me challenge you this morning. Don't let life get you so busy that you miss the opportunity to breath life into someone that is gasping for air.

God Bless!