Grady Russell

I spoke today about the importance of sharing. So, I want to share some great photos of our grandson, Drew. I think you’ll agree that he is the finest little boy on the planet!

click here for more!

Here is another photo of Jon and Stephanie on their mountaintop experience! Joyce and Grady are happy, too!

Check out our grandson Drew. He is only two months old. He begins college next month! 8o]

This is a great day. Joyce and I are thrilled to announce the engagement of our youngest son, Jonathan to Stephanie Anacker. The proposal was a mountaintop experience. Check it out…

Attaboy, Jonathan!

This week, Missy sent us an audio message with our grandson Drew saying, “ahhhhhh.” Then David called and we heard him cooing and oohing and ahhing even more. This rudamentory language of infants, otherwise known as “baby talk,” doesn’t make much sense to the casual listener, but to the trained ear of a grandparent it is a most lyrical expression of love and wonder.

In his seemingly unintelligible expressions, we hear God telling us that all is well with the world. Through the innocence of a newborn grandson God speaks “peace be still.” Worries fade, fears subside, joys arise, hope is renewed. Our grandson speaks and all I can think is, “ahhhhhhhhh.”

See an abundance of photos of our grandson, Andrew Everett Russell, via our son’s flickr site.

Andrew Everett Russell was born, Thursday, September 20th @ 8:33 PM.  Healthy and happy.  Mommy and baby are doing great.  I will be able to post more details upon our return to Orlando.  In the mean time, check out Jenn’s Blog.

www.jennblog.com

I Love My Work!

There cannot be a better job on the planet than mine. I am leading a brand new congregation of God hungry believers. SonPointe Church is a great work! Nehemiah spoke of his work in the same way. Nehemiah is a great study in the importance of work. In Nehemiah 6, he answers his inquiring enemy with the statement, “I am doing a great work!”

Everyone who is actively involved in the work of the Lord is involved in a great work. From the moment Jesus directed His disciples to go into all the world, the work of the kingdom of Christ has grown and prospered. It is a great and worthy endeavor. It has no equal! God’s book is the #1 bestseller of all time and His work is the number one work of all time!

Here are two powerful truths: it is great and it is work. The task before Nehemiah was a great task. He and his followers rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem in just 52 days. (Personal note: I am 52. On Saturday, September 1, we begin canvassing neighborhoods and doing the work of launching our church. Including Saturday, there are just 52 days before I turn 53 on October 22^nd. Is God getting me ready for a really happy birthday? Who knows! Yet, I cannot think of a better way to spend the last 52 days of my 52^nd year than working for the Lord.)

Nehemiah’s work was a great and worthy task. It also required great effort. The task before our church is also great and will require much labor, but a dear friend reminded me today that the “fields are white unto harvest.”

Work is a good thing. God never intended for mankind to get by without work. Even God works! He worked to form the world. Six out of seven days God worked. We should do the same! We should honor God’s day of rest by working the other six to earn that rest.

Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing. Theodore Roosevelt

There is no greater work worth doing than the work that God intends for you. If you are in the will of God you will be working 85% of the time (six of seven days). God works and expects you to work as well. God is not pleased with those who refuse to do their share of His work.

Work saves us from three great evils: boredom, vice and need. Voltaire

I don’t agree with everything that Voltaire had to say, but in this statement, he is right. Nothing is better for an individual or group than work. You defeat the enemy when you work. Boredom, sin, and need creep into groups and individuals that are not focused on their endeavors. God’s work is challenging and rewarding. Jesus said, “…I must be about My Father’s business.” Luke 2:49 (NKJV) Jesus knew the significance of doing the will of God. It was also vital to Nehemiah and should be important to every follower of Jesus Christ.

How can we work for God? Work! Earn a living. Tithe on your income. Support the work of God. Give to missions. Faithfully attend church. Be a model of Christ in all of your endeavors. Participate in the outreach endeavors of your church.

Work at keeping the peace of your church. Work at being a peacemaker.

Jesus declared that certain folks were blessed. However,

I don’t recall Jesus saying blessed are those who are bitter in spirit.

I don’t recall Him saying blessed are those who frown at others and refuse to greet their brothers and sisters in Christ.

I don’t recall Him saying blessed are those who are constantly offended.

I don’t recall Him saying blessed are those who refuse to support the work of the local church.

I don’t recall Him saying blessed are those who hinder the work of God.

He did say blessed are the peacemakers!

I can assure you that making peace is hard work!

Jesus did say that those who would be known as the children of God were the peacemakers! Want to be called a child of God? Make peace!

Jesus did say “Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice: for they shall have their fill.” If you are hungry for justice you will work!

Our church is a vital part of the work of God. Every believer who attends a church should enter into the work of that church or find a work they can enter into. Our church motto is, “Find your place in the Son!” There is a place for you in SonPointe Church and it is a place of work. After all…

Whoever does not love his work cannot hope that it will please others. Anonymous

Do you want to please the Lord?

If you love the Lord of the work, you will love the work of the Lord!

The work of God is a great work, and anything or anyone hindering the work cannot be pleasing God. When you grasp the greatness of the work, you will get involved! God’s people simply cannot sit on the sidelines when they understand the great task before us!

Do you love your work?

As the pastor of a new church I am constantly searching for the best deals for our church needs. Here is one that is so good I wanted to share it with all of my pastor friends. I know that you will all like it because it is free!

Since March I have been looking for the best price on song presentation software. We have actually been using PowerPoint, but the lack of flexibility has been frustrating. There are dozens of programs available for purchase from $149 to close to $1,000. Last week, I discovered the free one, openlp.org.

It is written especially for church presentations. In fact the fellows behind the project share on the website that it was “custom built from the ground up with churches in mind.” I like that fact! The software is intuitive and user friendly. It even has a built in song database and the ability to download through CCCLI and Song Select. Don’t skimp there; pay the annual fee for CCCLI and Song Select!

Since I was actually alive when Lotus 1-2-3 first came on the scene, I really love keyboard shortcuts (if you haven’t heard of Lotus 1-2-3, you are just too young!). Anyway, this program has several “hotkeys” that improve the presentation functionality. Its display monitor setup is a breeze! There are preview, live and order of service windows as well as easy to manage and almost effortless programmable slide background themes. They even offer a theme gallery on their website!

It is such a good program that I thought there might be a few friends out there who could benefit from it as well. Check it out at www.openlp.org and let me know what you think about it.

This blog was written by a real person. I am not an actor and I am not compensated for my statements except for the satisfaction of knowing that I may have helped a friend!

8o]