Gaither Caribbean Cruise...My Thoughts...

You know what they say after any type of vacation...BACK TO THE REAL WORLD...  well, that's only half true...let me explain.  We have taken time-off before and while we always have a great time and memories to share, you don't always feel the spiritual refreshing that you do on a Gaither cruise.  Stephanie and I had another awesome time with Bill, Gloria and the Homecoming Friends. This was our second cruise and boy it was a blast!  From the concerts, to the shopping and beaches, the week with the GVB went by way too fast.  We made many new life-long friends with people who love God (and the GVB) ;-).  The highlight for us was the spiritual growth we experienced between the music, testimonies, devotionals, and Ken Davis' presentation.  We also had some unexpected intimate meetings that richly blessed us.  To sum up our trip, yes, it is back to the real world, but the memories and spiritual encounter will last forever.  

As my son says...this is going to be good!

We are just under 3 weeks until we head out to FLL for the Gaither Caribbean Cruise.  The excitement is building!  As I write this blog post this evening, I am in the middle of finalizing our arrangements.  Flight from PDX to FLL--check; passports--check; hotel for Saturday night--working on it :-); gym clothes--check.  Let me explain why I included gym clothes here...we have not packed our bags yet; however, I warn you--the first thing that we were told on the Alaska Cruise was that the average person gains 15 pounds during the week.  Not sure if that was a scare-tactic to get you to purchase some personal training on the boat...but judging from the food we ate on the last cruise, I can tell you that they might be right :-)!  Babysitter--a BIG check.  We have been blessed to have family watch our kids when we are away.  My mom and aunt flew up from Hawaii to watch the kiddos when we attended the Alaska Cruise this past summer.  This time around, my wife Stephanie 's (Twitter @SMW003) parents are flying in from Phoenix to watch our little ones.  Although this last week we have had some outstanding sunny weather in Portland, we are looking forward to the warm...warm...warm!  At our age, we are beyond blessed to be able to attend two Gaither Cruises in less than a year.  We are also looking forward to the Portland concert in July!  Back to the hotel arrangments...good night! Scott    

Divine appointments...are they real?

God continues to blow my mind...let me explain...last night I had the opportunity to share my testimony with our church while our pastor was out of town.  (A side note: It was great timing as this month is my 15 year anniversary walking with the Lord).  As part of my testimony, I described my moving from Hawaii to Oregon to go to college.  When I first moved to Oregon, I had a diffcult time adjusting to the climate, culture, and life on the mainland.  As I was in the middle of speaking, a visitor walk into the church whom I had never seen before.  In speaking with her after the service ended, I found out that she was from the Bahamas and just moved to Oregon 6 months ago.  Here's what's interesting:

1. She was dealing with the exact same issues (coming from the islands) that I dealt with when I moved to Oregon;
2. I have not spoken in our church in over a year;
3. I can't recall in the last 15 years when someone from the Bahamas visited our church; and
4. She said she received a church invitation in the mail and our church doesn't do church mailings.

The best part is that she gave her life to Jesus at the end of the service. Amen! 

Do you believe in divine appointments?  Hhhhmmmm...I think I do!  

My thoughts on Tori Taff's Blog Post - 10.28.11 C.S. Lewis...

My thoughts on Tori Taff's Blog Post - 10.28.11.  Tori's blog on 10.28.11 asked about our thoughts regarding C.S. Lewis' statements below:

http://babybloomr.com/2011/10/ (Tori's Post)

“Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised.

But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of – throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.”
C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

I have been meaning to post a reply so here I go...I tried to keep this short and to the point...here are my thoughts...

When you first come to God, you come to God because all you know is that you need Him.  Whether your life has been devastated by addiction, immorality, bad decisions, the enemy's attack, spiritual emptiness, etc., there is a "knowing" that you need Jesus in your life.  He comes in and starts fixing what you know needs to be fixed.  You are surprised of God's power to save, change, heal, redeem and deliver, but you are not surprised that He is re-building your life.  You understand that there are areas that needed to be re-built.  There is no question and no self-will at that point getting in the way of what God wants to do in your life.  Once you have made a decision to accept Jesus into your heart and begin to live for Him, then it's time to determine what God's will for your life is.  Sometimes we think we know, but sometimes God wants to steer us in a different direction.  At times, God might tell us to do something that we don't fully understand at that moment.  Also, we set our own plans, but God might say "no", I want you to do this or go in this direction.  This may cost you time, money, relationships, etc. in the short-term, but in the long-term, God is directing you into something far better and greater than you could ever imagine.  It is up to us to not settle for the cottage, but to let Him build the palace.

Congrats to Bill and Gloria!!!

http://gaither.com/news/bill-receives-honorary-doctorate-taylor-university

Hello--I tweeted a couple messages earlier regarding the news of Bill receiving the honorary doctorate from Taylor University. I felt my short statements did not do justice to the recognition that Mr. Gaither deserves. I am glad to see that Taylor University recognized his accomplishments and impact he has had and continues to have in people's lives.

I have been to Bill's Homecoming concerts and I have to say that I am overwhelmingly impressed. The concerts are professional yet laid-back, coordinated yet flexible. Bill really knows how to use the Spirit of God to help him decide when to change and when to stick to the program.  For example, on the Alaska Cruise this summer, I really wanted to hear the GVB sing "Clean". I asked Kevin to put a request in to Bill and I know he did.   My understanding is that Bill typically follows the same program for both concerts. As I was in the second concert "blue badgers!", I was waiting to hear "Clean" (I believe the GVB sang it in the first concert). In the "blue badge" concert, I think they were about to sing "Clean" when Bill changed the song after Russ sang a powerful melody about redemption.  Bill was listening to the moving of the Holy Spirit.

Bill's songs are not only well-written, well-produced, and magnificently arranged, they also speak to the heart and soul of men and women. I will be honest that coming from Hawaii, I never heard S. Country Gospel music until I met my wife 10 years ago. She grew up listening to the Homecoming music and eventually had me as a convert. My favorite part of Bill's music is the life-changing and inspiring message he brings about God.

As I mentioned earlier in my tweet, I also want to congratulate Gloria. Being married and in ministry myself, I know how critical it is to have a wife that supports and contributes to your work. I know that Gloria has had a significant influence in Bill's music and ministry. She may not receive the recognition that Bill does, but she absolutely deserves it.

In closing, thank you Bill and Gloria for staying true to your calling, ministry, and message of the Cross of Calvary. I pray that God continues to bless you and add as many years to your lives as possible.

PS--See you on the ship in Feb.!

The innocence of a child...

...Tonight, for my son's bedtime story, he chose the book "My Teacher Sleeps in School" that he recently borrowed from the library.  As I am reading on page 2, {"What a dumb idea," said Gary}, my 4 year old son abruptly stopped me and said "we don't say that!"...we need to say "silly" not "dumb".  He said they made a mistake by using "dumb", they should have used "silly." :-).  I love it! :-)

Have a great night everyone and a good Lord's day!

iphone...do you love it?

Hi all--I was driving to work today and I looked down at my iphone that was sitting beside me.  The technology junkie inside me said, "I really, really (can't list all the reallys) love this phone!"  I remember back when I was 15 or 16 years old (yes, in Hawaii, you could get your license at 15) Radio Shack came out with a mobile phone that looked something like this:



I remember thinking that this was the best thing since sliced bread and now I don't have to find a phone to call someone when I received a page on my pager.  If I recall correctly, my model had to be plugged into the cigarette lighter (yes, cigarette lighter. I am not that old, but we now have power/chargers, not lighters in our cars) to work and the battery was about as large as my lunch box.  Wow, times have changed!  Now I can browse the web, tweet, listen to music, talk on the phone, look at pictures, take pictures, record video (in HD!!!!!), video conference with my parents in Hawaii, etc. etc. all from my wonderful iphone.

I can't imagine what the next 10 years will bring us.