Go West - Day 3, Phoenix 1st Prayer Pavilion

Go West - Day 2

Go West Young Man

We are heading west! This morning I am leaving home in a moving truck headed for San Diego. With me to help drive is Tony Orlando, youth pastor at Faith Chapel. I am going to try to post some video blogs of our journey, so check back this week to hear more about our trip. I'm also posting on Facebook some photos of my day yesterday as we packed and had a nice BBQ dinner.

4 Principles of Pearl Harbor

This past Sunday (Dec. 7, 2008) my message was entitled, "A Date Which Will Live in Infamy." The title, of course, comes from the well known speech given by Franklin D. Roosevelt the day after Japanese aircraft bombed Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.

In 2007, our family was able to take our first trip to Hawaii (hopefully not our last!). Without a doubt, one of the major highlights was touring the USS Arizona Memorial at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu. Very humbling to experience a place where so much pain and suffering happened. It is an important and interesting part of American history, and simply fascinating to go there.

On the USS Arizona Memorial and checking out the ship below with Braeden

On that day in American history, 2,280 military personnel lost their lives, 1,109 were wounded and 68 civilians also died. The sad thing about that day is that it didn't have to happen. Or at the very least, the results of the attacks could have been less damaging.

Consider this...

• Intelligence department intercepted messages about the coming attack, but didn't forward the entirety of the messages to the commanding officers in Oahu, Hawaii.
• There were warnings of Japanese spies in Hawaii, but they weren't found or captured.
• The morning of Dec. 7, military personnel manning the sonar saw a massive amount of aircraft coming toward them, but it was considered U. S. B-17's coming from the mainland.
• And finally, a sub periscope was seen in the harbor before the attack. Despite this, there was no alert given.

Here are 4 Principles of Pearl Harbor that we can learn from...

1. Pearl Harbor's Pride- They thought they were untouchable. Nothing could happen. Read Pro. 16:18; Ps. 10:4; Lk 18:11-16; and James 4:6.

2. Pearl Harbor's Warning- listed above were all the warning signs that were given. Because God loves us, He gives us many warning signs as well to make us change course. Many times we don't see and hear them because we aren't paying attention.

3. Pearl Harbor's Price- The price that was paid for having too much pride and not listening to the warning signs were great. On top of the men and women who lost their lives, nearly every aircraft was destroyed or damaged, 8 battleships were sunk or destroyed, 2 destroyers were sunk and several other warships. The price is great if we don't examine ourselves for weaknesses (see 2 Cor. 13:5; Mt. 7:22,23; Mt. 7:13,14).

4. Pearl Harbor's Power- There was an incredible display of Japanese power that day. But there was also a tremendous display of U.S. power and resolve. As believers, we have power that is beyond our strength (see 1 Jn. 4:4; 2 Cor. 10:3-6; Ps. 91:11; Ps. 68:1).

Are you listening to the warning signs God is placing in your life? Are they quiet, gentle warnings or have they become obvious and loud? Swallow your pride, heed the warning signs, count the cost, and lean on God's power. He cares for you, loves you, and wants what's best for you.

Wedding on the Beach

This past weekend I was in beautiful San Diego, CA for Shawn Cooper and Bethany Bushnell's wedding. It was truly an honor to be present as the two of them became one in the Lord. Shawn and Bethany met while attending Master's Commission. Shawn has attended Englewood most of his life and I have watched him grow up into a great young man.

It was evident to see God's hand in bringing them together. I always think it's awesome to see two different individuals living for God and following His plan, then finding one another. So many circumstances, so many opportunities, and so many things have to align themselves for such a union to come about. It's truly a "God Thing."

The wedding took place at sunset Saturday night on La Jolla Beach with about thirty close friends and family members. Some came as far as Iowa to show their support. On the trip I was able to meet many new friends and thoroughly enjoyed it. I even made my wife jealous by eating at Jack-In-the-Box.

And since I couldn't get back in time for services on Sunday, I caught up with my sister, who also lives in California, for her birthday. All in all, great weather, great time with great people.

New York, New York- part 2

This summer, my son and I took a trip to New York. Read part 1 here.


The National Baseball Hall of Fame was unforgettable if you are a baseball fan. Much too much to write about here, but one quick story. God gave us wonderful favor with one of the curators of the "Hall". We had heard that the new Buck O'Neil statue was being unveiled sometime that week, and then learned we would miss it by one day. Well, since we were from KC they had pity on us and took us downstairs into the basement of the museum (artifacts and stuff everywhere--incredible!). There we got to see the statue before it was displayed. What a special moment.

Drove to Poughkeepsie, NY that night so we could tour West Point Military Academy on Friday. For a history buff like me, West Point was beyond words. The campus is beautiful and we were blessed to see a graduating class ceremony.

Friday night we were at Shea Stadium in Queens, NY to see our Cardinals lose to the Mets. If you're keeping score at home, I've attended 3 Cardinal games this year and they have lost all 3. Maybe I should just stay away. The next day we headed back to Philadelphia, flew to St. Louis, and drove to KC. Whew. Good thing we had a guest speaker the next morning!

I share these moments with you not to boast or brag. But to allow you to see that God is at the center of our family, and He can be the center of yours too. We work hard at being a Christ-centered family and are far from perfect. But I hope you are blessed by these little glimpses into our family life. Here are some more pictures:











Yankee Hall of Famer Yogi Berra signing autographs in Cooperstown














Buck O'Neil statue in storage, waiting to be revealed












Joe & I playing catch in Cooperstown. A great father/son moment.













West Point cadets












Shea Stadium with the new stadium in background

New York, New York- Part 1

I want to share a little with you about a trip my son Joseph and I took to the East coast this summer; a sort of pre-teen pilgrimage. I got the idea from Dr. Dobson, of Focus on the Family. We had a great time building memories together and learning lessons from life, each other, and some Dobson teaching CDs.

We had a mad itinerary. On Monday, we drove to St. Louis to fly to Philadelphia. Tuesday we went to the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall before driving to New York City. We quickly drove through Manhattan and headed for Long Island. That night, I spoke at Freedom Chapel for my good friend, Pastor Jimmy Jack. You can read more about that here.

Wednesday we took in a Yankees game. We toured Monument Park before the game, which was unbelievable. Even more unbelievable was the weather. It was suppose to rain on us. The radar on my phone showed rain to the west, north and east of us; but it never rained at Yankee Stadium!

After the game we drove to Cooperstown, NY, stopping for gas in Orange County, NY. By complete accident, we looked over and saw the new Orange County Choppers facility. We went over and checked out some cool choppers. It's awesome. Worth the time.

Arrived at Cooperstown late and decided to go by the Hall of Fame Museum to get our bearings for the next day. Long story short, Joe got Hall of Famer, Dave Winfield's autograph. He was incredibly nice. What a thrill.

I'll share the rest of the trip in Part 2. Meanwhile, here are some pictures:

Remember the Kansas City CowParade in 2001? Well NYC had something similar in honor of the All-Star Game. They had Statue of Libertys all throughout the city designed with each MLB team theme. It's not a clear picture, but we just happened to pass by the Royals statue.

Monument Park, Yankee Stadium

Orange County Choppers

NY Football Giants Chopper

Dave Winfield