Serious Mind Dump

Just got back from vacation with my family. Five days of Disney...yup just have me committed now. It wasn't much a vacation for my wife and I from the sense that we did not get much rest or time alone, but we did have an incredible fun time with our kids. There is something so special experiencing Disney from the eyes of your kids. Max and Emily had a blast. And of course, Little Miss I am not scared of anything Emily, would not go near one of the characters. She absolutely loves everything Disney and she was so excited when she saw all of the characters from afar, but as soon as it was her turn to pose for a picture, the girl went bazerk. It was quite funny. I am truly blessed with a amazing wife and wonderful kids. I pray that we have many more times away as a family. Thanks to Scott and Naomi for the great hook up on a place to stay-you guys are awesome.

Vacation is over and tons to do. We have our Christmas Eve services, that I still need to write out a sermon for, we still have to move out of our current offices and into our new one by the end of this month. I still have tons of work to do to get ready for another launch of small groups in January. I still have a ton of work to recruit new leaders. I have meetings every day next week and a wedding to do in Miami next weekend. It never stops, but God is good.

I have been spending a lot of time thinking through the next stages of ministry for Summit and for me personally. I believe 2009 is going to be a huge year for our ministry. I think God is going to really stretch our faith and leadership in this next year. I am believing God for another campus by the end of 2009. I also believe we will probably have to add a fourth service at the University Campus by February. I am believing and trusting God to provide a permanent space for our Naples Campus in 2009. I truly believe that our Naples Campus is really going to take off in the next few months.

I really want to spend more time this next year connecting with more local pastors and local ministries in our area. If we truly want to see every man, woman and child have the repeated opportunity to see, hear and respond to the Gospel than that is going to be a huge component.

Lastly I have just over a month to continue my training for the Miami Marathon and to complete my fundraising efforts for the Organization for Autism Research. It is going to be a jam packed month. My wife and I are committed though to not allowing our business to take away from this special time of year. After all its Christmas and as followers of Christ don't we have so much to be grateful for...

God Bless.