As I have reviewed my day, I have learned or been reminded of several things. I want to share these with you today. In fact, we move so fast sometimes, we forget to stop long enough to remember various things. Here are my reminders from yesterday:

Reminder #1: Time with God is needed daily. My search into the life of Joseph was powerful yesterday. God’s sovereign movement in his life should encourage all of us.

Reminder #2: Reviewing God’s activity in your past can have great encouragement for the future. As I am writing and re-writing this manuscript on The Power of Prayer and Fasting, I am convinced of its enormous power now more than before.

Reminder #3: Slowing down is good on some days. Jeana and I altered our exercise today and did a little “walk-run” in our neighborhood. Slowing down some and altering our schedule a little provided an opportunity for talking to one another.

Reminder #4: There is always something to learn. I had lunch with a publisher, a fellow pastor of another church in our region, and Nick. I went to school, asking this pastor many questions. There is always something to learn.

Reminder #5: There is always something to deal with. In one of our meetings dealing with an issue related to our school, I was reminded that regardless of how hard you try, there is always something to deal with in life.

Reminder #6: It is always a joy to be with our people. We had the privilege to have dinner in the home of some of our members. It was a delightful experience getting to know that family better.

Reminder #7: NOTHING is more exciting to hear about than a miraculous work of God reaching down in salvation to a person. We received a call about someone we had prayed for who came to Jesus tonight miraculously.

Reminder #8: God answers prayer. Read #7.

Blessings friends, have a great weekend, and please come to worship God this Sunday.

THERE IS NOTHING LIKE IT in the world. I did not sign up for it nor was I recruited to do it. I was drafted by the owner when I was only 16 years old.

He discovered me, drafted me, and signed me to it from the heart of small church America. When I say small, I mean small. If 40 people were there on Sunday mornings, it was big day. If you showed up and wanted to sing a solo, you were on! American Idol had nothing on my church. If a time for testimonies occurred, you had better be ready. If need be, push rewind and repeat. If you went to sleep while the pastor was giving his message for the day, he might wake you up. Yes, one day he called my name out in front of the whole church: “Ronnie, you need to wake up while I am preaching!” Guess what? I have not gone to sleep in church since I was a little boy. You probably did not believe me, but I told you it was small.

When God drafted me into the world of ministry, He risked so much. As I reflect, knowing what I know today, I am amazed He wanted me on His team. Only five months before, He had drafted me to be a part of His family. Even though my parents took me to church at least three times a week, for some reason I did not get it. Finally, I entered into that personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

Football was my life. I wanted to play as much as I could for as long as possible. After that, I wanted to be a football coach more than anything in the world.

When God began to change my personal agenda, He did it radically. When I settled that He had indeed called me into ministry, I almost raced down the aisle of that small membership church. On that Sunday morning in March, I entered into the world of ministry.

There is nothing like it in the world.

Yesterday I spent most of the day in a “Vision Day” with the Leadership Team of our staff. This group of men hold in their hands the heart of the ministries of our church. Everything falls under at least one of these men. They are great men, they work hard, and I love them. However . . .

Vision is work! When you are in the midst of sharing vision and working through that vision, it is work. I think at times we believe it comes easy or if God gives it to us, it comes quickly. While the Lord’s leadership makes things better all the way around, it does not excuse us of doing due diligence. This is necessary for all of us. While vision energizes me and sets the course for our future, it is work.

I am excited about the vision we see God bringing about through our team. It is my hope that sometime in the next few months, I will be able to stand up and share what God has put on our hearts. Yet one of the secrets of leadership is sharing it at the right time and in the right way. Again, work precedes the actual casting of a vision.

So, if you are involved in dreaming or visioneering, take heart, it is work! Don’t think you cannot do it or you just must not have the gift. My friends, it is work. No shortcuts exist when you desire vision to be real and long-lasting for generations. Take the time now in your life – because vision is necessary and yes, it is work.

May God ignite you to greater vision!

The glory of God fell on all of our services yesterday. The worship was outstanding on both campuses, the fellowship was sweet, the prayer was powerful, the Word of God was convicting, and the invitation was responded to greatly. When the glory of God falls, it is evident.

The glory of God is the presence of God. His presence becomes manifested among us when His people are open to Him, especially when they are receiving His Word. As worship is lifted up to the Savior, the Lord pours out His Spirit upon His people mightily. Yesterday was that kind of day.

I challenge those of you who were present yesterday to really focus on asking yourself, “Am I pouring myself out to Jesus completely?” As we pour ourselves out to Him, we will experience the power of giving. We are never more like Jesus than we give. The giving of ourselves to God is essential.

If you missed yesterday, click here to experience the Lord with us from yesterday (the video will be ready around noon today.) We are sure you will find everything stated about yesterday as being true.

What a great Savior! What a great church. What a great privilege, to pour ourselves out to Jesus. “Oh Lord, help us pour ourselves out to you completely and continually.” Work in our lives in a new and refreshed manner.

In 1997, Broadman and Holman Publishers, released a book I wrote entitled, THE POWER OF PRAYER AND FASTING. While most books have a shelf life these days of no more than six months unless it is very unique, this book has done well for now 12 years. Because the book is still selling well, plus the unique condition we find our country, the entire evangelical world, and even our Southern Baptist Convention, it was determined that we work really hard to see a revised and expanded version of the book on prayer and fasting released in January of 2010.

Therefore, I have to have this all done by June 26. So I have been on some major adjustments in thinking and planning over the past few days and have now begun that process of doing all this in the early morning and late night, along with all else I am challenged to do daily. This is a huge task to take on, but I am getting direction from the Lord and the publisher has been very helpful.

I have brought all of this to your attention for one reason: I need your prayers. I need wisdom, as well as physical, mental, and spiritual strength. Please come alongside of me in prayer.

Just tonight, I received a call out of the blue from a pastor who read that book and told me about how God has so used it in his life to ignite him and his church into unprecedented days. I was so blessed that I have asked him to write up his story so I can use it in the book as it would encourage so many people. Friends, ask God to anoint me to write what needs to be written.

Only through God can we get this done and only for His glory. Therefore, again, pray for me. God has used prayer and fasting so much in my life and every time I see someone engage that principle, I see God move in their life in a new way. I cannot think of a message more needed in our nation today.

Thanks for coming alongside of me to pray.

This past Saturday, our Student Ministry’s MOTION Ministry was featured across the State of Arkansas in an article called, “Dancing in Church.” I am so proud of our leadership under the direction of Chuck Butler and of course, I am even more blessed by our students who participate in it. Take the time to go to this link; I promise you, your life will be blessed.

http://www.nwanews.com/adg/Religion/260774/

Jeana and I were away for a few days over Memorial Day, returned on Wednesday, and have been involved in numerous challenges since our return. We had the privilege to spend a few days on the beach in Watercolor, Florida.  While we only had two fabulous days of weather, we are grateful for the time away.  The weather was very cold upon our arrival, yes, even in late May, and we had major rain a couple of other days.  They were unusual days weather wise for the Panhandle of Florida, but again, we enjoyed the time we were able to be on the beach reading, talking, and  being away together.

Being away reminded me of the value it can bring to me.  While we do not need to be caught up in a relentless pursuit of time away, there is major value when it comes.  There is the value of:

• Diversion: When we change the course of our schedules, we are refreshed.  I am such a “schedule freak” that this adds tremendous value to my life.
  

• Vision:  When we see a new environment and operate in it, we begin to see new things about our own lives and place.  For me, the value is great to be able to be beside the water – looking, listening, and learning.

• A valued book downloaded in my Amazon Kindle brings me enormous energy.

• Rest:  When we experience a diversion and experience newness visually, we enter into a solitude of rest that usually does not come in a familiar environment.  As I look back, although I was always consistent in taking some annual time away with family, I really wish I had taken more of my allotted time away, some of which I never took.  In my younger years, church leadership had to pretty well insist that I get away a few days.  On this side of life, I need it now more than ever before.  Life is filled with much pressure, demands, and expectations of others.  The larger the organization or job, the more of these that exist.  This is why rest is essential.

While pride may talk us into the need to always be present and honestly, there are those times when being away is neither wise or advantageous for anyone, we need to be wise in the way we live life.  Exhaustion does not help anyone.  Slothfulness does not either.  Spiritual wisdom is imperative as we live life.

As you are able to “enter into that rest” for a short or extended period of time in your life, enter in with all you are, so that all you are can be refreshed.  It is hard to live in two worlds at one time, which is what occurs when we attempt to live in both worlds, the world of “away” and “work” at one time.  So when you work, work.  When you are away, attempt to be away.  This is not easy for yours truly, and one day over our past few days away, I had to enter back into the world of NWA and some matters out of necessity.  Yet, I say it again, whatever time you can get, you need.  Take it and attempt to give glory to God in it.

While I use guest bloggers at times when I am here and at times when I am away, I want to thank Dr. Scott Kaufman, Andy Wilson, and Ben Mayes for helping me during the past few days.  I hope you enjoyed hearing from them.  Be blessed my friends and have a great day.

Happy Summer.