Sunday, September 5, 2010

4:30 wake-up call

I find I don't initially respond well to 4:30am wake up calls. Yeah, so I'm snoozin hard, fast asleep, in dreamland, far away from my current reality. Suddenly I feel a presence of something so very familiar. For me, a 3 year old tryin to snuggle up so close to our bed. So sweet you might think, my response, "Go to bed Gavin! It's night, night time" in a pretty harsh tone.

His reply, "But, but I wanna watch Toy Story."
"No, bubba! It's night, night time."
"But, but I want some milk."
"Go to bed."
"But, but" as I close the door.

So yeah, it's now 5:30am and he's sound asleep. Me, not so much. Not that I didn't try, it's just how I'm wired. In most cases, I'd be kinda frustrated. You see, I don't do well w/ lack of sleep. This time's so different.

As I laid in the bed for almost an hour, just trying to get a lil more sleep before my 6:15 alarm, I immediately start to think about my friend Guy and what he's goin through. (See previous blog for more info). It's seems to consume my thoughts right now, as you can imagine. Prayin for you buddy.

Anyway, this causes me to be grateful for 4:30 wake-up calls. Yeah, I'll probably feel it later on today. And let's be truthful, I'm not praying for another tomorrow morning. I'm just so very thankful right now for all God has blessed me with. I love my family, my job, my church, my life. "Thank you God for all that You've blessed me with." I challenge you today to be grateful for those 4:30 wake-up calls.

Monday, August 30, 2010

Curve balls

So what do you do when it seems like life makes no sense. What do you do when it seems you're faced with a "curve ball"?

James 1:2 NLT
2
Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.
3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. 4 So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.

Seems lately, I'm frequently reminded of this scripture. What do you do? You trust in God! When it makes no sense, you trust in God. Seems easier said than done. Or maybe it's actually easier done than said.

I think the times I've experienced God's peace the greatest is when I'm going through one of these times of trouble. You see, when you're faced with trouble, there are 2 responses presented: either trust God or turn from Him.

In just the last few days, a friend of mine has really shown me how we should respond. My friend, Guy, is facing one of the darkest times of his life right now. His wife, Marianne, passed away early this morning after a several days struggle, leaving he and their 3 little girls. Instead of bitterness and resentment, he's choosing to trust in God. Oh my, the strength he's shown, the peace of God he's experienced. Bro, I see you as a man of God. I love you Bro!

May I have this same heart after God.

Thursday, March 25, 2010

March Update

Hello all, just an update on our lives.

Foundations:

God continues to do such great things every week. We've seen over 300 people commit their lives to Christ in the 18 months of existence. In February alone, 5o people decided to surrender their lives to Christ; praise God. We have a goal to reach 300 people for Christ this year. This month we launched our live internet stream which airs every Sunday morning @ 10:30am. Check it out @ www.fctulsa.tv and click on the watch live link. We're very excited about the response we've received from this venture. We have several who are inviting friends to attend the service in their homes on a weekly basis (in New York, Japan, Edmond & Norman, OK, etc). Hey, we're gonna do whatever it takes to reach people for Jesus Christ. In the next few months, we're planning to start a once a month Sunday night service in the Oklahoma City area for those home groups. It's very exciting to be a part of this awesome church. We just recently were able to add Sammy Floyd (Children's Director) to full-time staff just this month; praise God. Sammy and Alissa moved here from Oregon in December 08 to join our team. They both have been working secular jobs to make a living while serving the church as well. We're very excited and blessed to have them here.

Personal life:
Truly enjoying life. I fall more in love with Cassandra everyday. She is such an awesome wife and mom. Thank you God for blessing me. Gavin just turned 3 a few weeks ago; we had a Buzz Lightyear party.


It was great, he had a blast and got way to many toys. Oh man, he's so much fun. I love being a dad (most of the time). He is my very best friend (most of the time). It's so awesome to hear him say, "Yay, daddy's home", then runs to give me a big hug. Love it!

Prayer Request:

We still have a lot of needs. We currently have 2 more guys we're desiring and needing to bring on full-time. Also, we meet in a High School every week, and we desire to find permanent facilities. We need God to open some doors and provide the funds for us to accomplish these desires. Personal needs: in my last blog I shared that we discovered our main vehicle has some pretty major mechanical problems, being that it has over 200k miles on it. So we are in great need of a dependable vehicle. Please continue to pray that God will open the right doors.

Thanks:

I want to continue to say a big thanks to everyone who has supported us. Whether in finances, prayer, etc, we thank you so much. God uses many avenues to fulfill His plan, and you've made it possible for us to be here following the call He's placed on our lives. Couldn't do it without you. If you would like to support us financially, you can do so by sending a tax deductible gift to:

Foundations Church

P.O. Box 1406
Jenks, OK 74037

We love you all, and pray God's continual blessing on your lives.

Shannon & Cassandra Dalrymple

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Been a bit

So, it's been a while since my last blog. Thought I should catch up. Our lives are going great. God continues to bless and do awesome things.

Foundations:
God is moving in such an awesome way @ FC. So far we've seen over 300 people commit their lives to Christ in the 18 months of existence; that's what it's all about. We continue to see growth and new people are coming and making FC their home on a weekly basis. We're excited about pursuing new avenues to present the gospel. Infact, this Sunday we are launching two internet home campuses in which we will live stream our services every week. One in Edmond, OK and one in Norman, OK. If you live in these areas and would like to attend, please contact me for more info. God called us here to see life change in thousands of lives. Can't wait to see His promises fulfilled.

Personal life:
Our lives are so blessed. We recently were presented the opportunity to purchase another home in Bixby in October. So good to be home. Gavin continues to get "crazier" every day. Wow! He's a handful with so much energy and excitement. We have so much fun. He will be 3 this weekend, so we're very busy planning a "Buzz Lightyear" bday party.


Prayer Request:
God continues to provide, but we still have a lot to do for Him. We have a lot of needs. Here we go: we currently have 3 guys that moved their families here and found jobs to serve as volunteer staff. We desire and need to bring them on full-time so we can do what God has called us to do here in the Tulsa Metro area. In order to do this, we need God to open some doors and provide the funds. Also, we meet in a High School every week, and we desire to find permanent facilities. We have audacious faith that God is going to provide. As far as personal needs, we recently discovered our main vehicle has some pretty major mechanical problems, being that it has over 200k miles on it. So we are in great need of a dependable car. Please continue to pray that God will open the right doors.

Thanks:

I want to continue to say a big thanks to everyone who has supported us. Whether in finances, prayer, etc, we thank you so much. God uses many avenues to fulfill His plan, and you've made it possible for us to be here following the call He's placed on our lives. Couldn't do it without you. If you would like to support us financially, you can do so by sending a tax deductible gift to:


Foundations Church

P.O. Box 1406
Jenks, OK 74037

We love you all, and pray God's continual blessing on your lives.

Shannon & Cassandra Dalrymple