Thankful for our country and all the people who have sacrificed for our freedom!

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Summer is here!!!

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so we have a two-year-old in the house right now (iliana). this is our third time through the two's and she has reached one of the most annoying parts of the journey through two, the constant "why" questions. those of you who have children, probably know exactly what i am talking about. it doesn't matter what you say to her, if she's not 100% on board with what you're saying, she needs to know "why". and when you answer her to the best of your ability, that answer is followed up with another "why"... and another "why"... and so on and so forth until you finally just give up, defeated.

well, i've been reading a book on leadership and came across this quote which made me think of iliana and her inquisitive ways. "the person who knows how will always have a job, but the person who knows why will always be the boss."

okay, i'm not convinced that two-year-old iliana's intention in constantly asking "why" is to figure the world out... i think most of the time it's because she wants to get her way. but at some point or another many of us have probably been annoyed by the over-inquisitive person. yet the reality is, those who go the extra mile to not just understand how things work but why they work the way they do, often get the leg up!

so be inquisitive... ask why... it might just be to your benefit in the end!

i had some time today to sit and reflect on the cross and the amazing gift that it is! i find myself continually overwhelmed by the cross and all that it represents! thank God for his amazing grace and unending mercy!

YouVersion is a free online Bible resource created by Lifechurch.tv in Oklahoma City. You can find a link to the online Bible on the resources page on our website (www.heartlandchurch.net). YouVersion is also available as a free app on iPhone, iPod touch, Android and Blackberry phones. In the App Store simply search for “lifechurch.tv” and you should find the app. One of the things that is available through YouVersion is a “Live” feature in which a church can publish a whole host of information and allow you to follow along on your web-enabled mobile device with our morning gathering. This is a feature that we at Heartland Church are beginning to use and we want to invite you to use this resource on Sunday mornings. What can you do with YouVersion Live? Here are just a few things: 1) Get bulletin info, 2) follow along with the flow of the gathering, 3) give your tithes and offerings online via PayPal, 4) take message notes on your phone or computer and email them to yourself, 5) submit prayer requests, 6) participate in live polls and discussions and more. To use YouVersion Live, simply download the free app on your iPhone, iPod Touch, Android or Blackberry phone. Once downloaded open the app and create a free account with YouVersion. Once your account is set up, you can open the app and click on the “Live” page. Search for live events using our zip code (95377) and you'll find any available Sunday morning events for Heartland Church. If you’re not an iPhone, iPod Touch, Android or Blackberry user, you can still use YouVersion Live with any web-enabled mobile device by going to www.youversion.com/groups/heartlandtracy. If you any questions or problems getting set up, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

iPhone users: we now have a free Heartland Church App available in the App store. Search for "Heartland Church" in the App store on your phone or click on the "Get the App" button below. You can also help us promote this App by clicking on the "Get the Widget" button below and copying and pasting the embed code for this widget on your blog, myspace page, etc.

well it's 11:48pm and i'm still up working. it's been an incredibly busy week and an incredibly busy day and i still have a lot of stuff on my list to get done. as i take this moment to pause and reflect on what i'm thankful for, it's moments of rest. it may not be today (or tomorrow for that matter) but i'm thankful for those moments of rest when they do come! happy sleeping y'all!

i've been thinking about how many things in life i often take for granted. every day i have so many people, things and moments that get overlooked because of the hustle and bustle of life. i want to be more intentional about slowing down and reflecting on these things and giving thanks for them. so i'm beginning a journey for the next year... every day, for the next 365 days, i am going to intentionally pause and post a picture of something significant and meaningful in my life and give thanks.

i have to say this was not an original idea with me but something an old classmate of mine began a while back and i was really intrigued by the idea. feel free to join in!

so i'll officially begin posting tomorrow... let the journey begin!

i've been thinking this morning about what it means to trust God. i am the type of person who likes to make things happen... i'm a doer. so when i approach situations in my life, my tendency is to want to be in control so i can make happen what needs to happen. so when it comes to the notion of "trusting God" i struggle a bit. not in whether or not i can trust God... i have seen numerous occasions where He has proven Himself more than faithful and trustworthy. i know i can trust Him. i think the struggle for me is more in the practice of actually trusting... waiting on Him... not feeling like i have to have all the answers, have everything figured out or fix everything that's wrong. 

it's one thing to know in my mind that He will take care of me and everything will be okay, but it seems to me that really trusting is more than just the idea of knowing that things are going to be okay... it seems that trust is more of an action; a willingness to surrender to another.

i think of the old "trust fall" game, where you stand on a chair or something with your back facing someone and close your eyes and just fall backward, completely trusting that the other person is going to catch you. it's the act of surrendering... giving up the control of a safe landing to someone else.

i know in my mind that i can trust God and i feel in my heart that i want to trust God, but with my actions, do i live a life of trusting God?

God, teach me to trust you in all I do!

i reached the book of 1 chronicles in my bible reading plan today... all i have to say is that is some enthralling reading material!! uggh! i'm sure it's fascinating if you know all the history of each of those people and why their lives are significant but it's not the most exciting thing just to read. good way to start a monday!

It's been a crazy couple weeks and I haven't even had the time to write. I've had several large projects I've been working on that have been on my plate for quite some time, along with all the normal day to day stuff I've had going on.

One of those projects, I'm super-excited to be able to finally share with everyone... Our new church website!! Check it out at www.heartlandchurch.net. Still needs a few tweeks but I'm excited about some of the new features that make it really interactive and hopefully give people some resources to grow spiritually via the Internet. I'd love to get your feedback.

The second big project is not available quite yet but as a little hint to you... It should hit the App Store in the next week or so! Stay tuned!!!


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Found this quote today... Thought it was thought provoking.

"It isn't our sin that is so bad (Jesus fixed that on the cross), but our stiffness. There's something about religion that can make you cold, critical, and mean." Steve Brown


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i have been reading a book entitled "church marketing 101" by richard l reising, and found myself particularly intrigued by a statement he made in the section i was reading today. the statement he made was this, "your church does not need a vision statement, it needs a vision." the premise behind the statement is this, when we speak of "vision" the term alone conveys, not words, but a picture... something we see. he went on to speak of the "vision" he saw when he looked out his office window and described the scene in elaborate detail. to try to convey that picture in one single, succinct statement would never give the reader a true glimpse into what he was seeing.


i found this idea intriguing and incredibly inspiring! i have been in church leadership now for a good number of years and have always been taught and operated under the premise that to be effective, you have to have a single, succinct "vision statement." i've often wrestled with this,though, without being able to describe it in such a way, because it seems so difficult to convey all that needs to be conveyed in a single statement.


reising goes on to say, this is no way alleviates the need to communicate the vision or to write it out in detail... in fact, in many ways, it enhances that need. people need to see the elaborate picture you see in order to get excited about it, buy in and be a part of fulfilling that vision. if the picture is fuzzy, unclear and unfocused, people will be fuzzy, unclear, unfocused and both they and you, will likely become frustrated.


as God said to the prophet habakkuk, "write the vision and make it plain..."