Today is my Daughter Reese’s 4th birthday. 5 years ago I could have never imagined my life with her… Now, I can’t imagine living without her. She is one of the greatest gifts God has ever given me.
It is impossible for me to put into words the amount of love I have for this girl. She has improved my life in every possible way. Reese, when you’re older I hope you read this, and when you do I want you to know how proud your Daddy is of you. I can’t wait to see the woman of God you become. But don’t rush things… you can stay Daddy’s little girl as long as you want.
This week we set all the 2010 dates for NEXT STEP, the new membership class for SGC. I'm really excited about this because I know there are quite a few people who have asked in the last few weeks about becoming a member. So... if you've been thinking about becoming a member of the SGC or maybe you just want to learn a little more about the history and vision of Shady Grove and the leadership team... NEXT STEP IS FOR YOU!
If you want to learn more about NEXT STEP, the 2010 schedule or to register for the FREE NEXT STEP LUNCH just visit http://shadygrove.org/nextstep or you can just head to Guest Central Sunday morning and pick up your NEXT STEP card.
The Awakening and Revival Tour started Friday night and is going strong all day Saturday.
This morning Tim Sheets had an amazing session all about how to affect the 7 mountains of influence. The 7 mountains being EDUCATION, BUSINESS, MEDIA, GOVERNMENT, ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT, RELIGION, and FAMILY.
The premise of his session was that not everyone is called to minister in the five fold gifts within the church, and within the church is not necessarily where the an Awakening needs to start.
The strategy that Tim pointed us to today was this: What if every church in America, every year, in every area of ministry starting in the Children's and Youth ministry, began to raise up one student a year to become a leader in on one of these mountains. What could that unleash in our nation in 10, 20 or 30 years? Millions of spirit filled men and women of God in every area of influence in our nation and around the world.
It's an amazing strategy and one that is actually doable. I'm excited about the possibilities this could open up, the areas of influence that might be affected, the change that this could bring.
Here is a video they showed today that gives an overview of what they are talking about and how it works.
Last month I read the book “IT” by Craig Groeschel. I loved it. A book every pastor should read as well as anyone that has anything to do with any kind of leadership.
I was reading over some of the things I underlined and notes/thoughts I wrote down, and I came across the prayer that Craig prays at the end of the book and I wanted to share it with you.
I pray that we corporately as a church and as individuals never become afraid to pray dangerous prayers like this over our families, our neighborhoods, or ourselves.
“May God bless you with discomfort at easy answers, half truths, and superficial relationships, so that you may live deep within your heart. May God bless you with anger at injustice, oppression, and the exploitation of people, so that you may work for justice, freedom, and peace. May God bless you with tears to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, and starvation, so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and to turn their pain into joy. And may God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you can make a difference in this world, so that you can do what others claim cannot be done. That’s it. Amen.”
Obviously, unless you love under a rock you have heard about the devastating earth quake that hit Haiti. The casualty rate is still going up and the need for the basics like food, water, blankets etc. is enormous!
You can't watch what is happening in Haiti and not want to get involved, but how? There are so many great organizations that are mobilizing to fill the great need it's hard to know which one you should support or as sad as it is to say, TRUST.
If you are like me and are looking for a place to help, I wanted to share a link with you. Healing Place Church led by Pastor Dino Rizzo are already on the ground in Haiti hard at work.
I have ABSOLUTE trust in the integrity of Dino and his staff and church. You can trust that they will do what they say they will do with your support.
Here's the link that Healing Place Church has set up to collect support donations. Obviously, if you don't live in Baton Rouge you most likely won't be able to drop off the medical supplies that are needed, but if you could at least make a donation that would be HUGE!
A few months ago City Life Kids, the children's outreach ministry of Shady Grove Church, was invited to participate in the after school program at one of the local rec. centers in Grand Prairie.
Chris, one of the rec. center directors, was a part-time staff members a few years ago when Lifewalk, our school of discipleship volunteered at the rec center once a week. Chris, now a full time director told us that of all the programs that come through the center, he could always tell how much our group really did love the kids and what an impact that their GODLY influence made on the kids lives. Now that Chris is in charge of the after school program, he wanted to make sure the kids had that Godly influence again.
Currently Andrew Taylor and Sean Sebastian (or as I like to call them "Seandrew") run the program at the rec center twice a month for about 30+ kids. They are having an amazing impact in the lives of the students. Their visits have already become the favorite parts of the after school program for the kids.
Between the Watering Hole (K thru 4th grade), Amplify (5th/6th grade) or the nursery ministry on Sunday morning and our increasing list of outreach opportunities* with City Life Kids there are plenty of opportunities for you to get involved and see lives changed. (both the kid's lives and yours)
WILL YOU PRAY ABOUT GETTING INVOLVED WITH SHADY GROVE KIDS/CITY LIFE KIDS TODAY?
*We really do have outreach opportunities opening up for City Life Kids every day. If we had the resources (PEOPLE being the greatest need, finances second.) we could be doing outreach 7 days a week. If you want to get involved in some way, you can email me at niles.holsinger@shadygrove.org.
Well Hello! I'm Niles and this is my blog. In case you were curious, I am the Children's/Communications Pastor at Shady Grove Church. I have a beautiful wife named Lindsay, a hilarious daughter named Reese, and a new son named Cameron. I hope you enjoy yourself while reading this blog. I would love to get a comment from you every now and then on anything, even if it has nothing to do with what I said.
