I have a hope!

Jeremiah 29:11 (New International Version)

¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Powerful...

Take captive every thought!

Take captive every thought. 2 Corinthians 10:5 NIV

Nineteen-year-old Liu Shih-Kun was an esteemed concert pianist in China until the Cultural Revolution banned all things of Western influence. Refusing to renounce his beloved music, Liu was deemed an enemy of the people, beaten and imprisoned. There he languished in a tiny cell with no books, no paper, and even worse - no piano. Six years later, for propaganda reasons, he was asked to play in Beijing with the Philadelphia Orchestra. After years without an instrument to practise on, he performed brilliantly. And 18 months later when he was finally released, he again played flawlessly. That Liu survived is remarkable; that his hands continued to move as if they'd never stopped playing is amazing. His secret? Stripped of everything musical, for seven and a half years Liu disciplined himself to shut out negative thoughts and practise hour after hour on an imaginary piano.

A well respected counsellor says: "We don't realise the extent to which our own thinking contributes to our mental anguish. The earlier you stop 'thought attacks' the easier it is to regroup and get back on track. Now, while the concept is simple, it's not easy to implement. Once you start paying attention you'll probably discover you have a lot more 'thought attacks' than you can possibly imagine." Police shout "Freeze!" when they want to stop a suspect and protect themselves. And you can freeze out harmful thinking by capturing every thought and making it "obedient to Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5 NIV). Paul says: "This is not a wrestling match against a human opponent. We are wrestling with… spiritual forces" (Ephesians 6:12 GWT).

Your thoughts have power. To win over them, you must submit to Christ and control what you allow your mind to dwell on.

It's almost done!

This week we (Aaron T., Pastor & Sis. Young and I) have been working around the clock to get this CD done for No Limits! If all goes well, we should have it on Monday, March 2nd, just in time for Innovate and No Limits!

If you want to get a sneak peak, go to:

InnovateWorship.org

Let's Go!

Anyone want to go hang out in the Philippines for a few days? Love those people!

As my life gets busy for this season, I don't want to forget what it's really all about. Happiness, friends, laughing, love, thankfulness, and most of all Jesus!

I'm headed to Lousiana...

Tomorrow morning I am going to meet Pastor Young in Baton Rouge to work on the new project, "Declare It to the Nations". I'm really pumped about this CD, and I must admit, the food too!

Say a prayer for us!

Get the Early Registration Price!

innovateworship.org

I've been accepted!

It's official! As of yesterday, I'm am an MBA student at Hope International University. This is a huge step for me in completing many long-term goals. My plan is to finish in 18 months by working very, very hard.

I begin classes on March 16th - say a prayer for me, well I suppose those around me!

Bible Reading Plan

I have found this great site that will set up a plan for you to read the Bible in one year. What's great is - they send the scriptures to your email in-box daily, via RSS feed. Come on, how can you forget? Everyone checks their email everyday!

You can choose different methods like chronological and many translations! I'm reading the chronological version in The Message translation (very modern, hip approach). After I have read Genesis 1-3 on Jan. 1st for 6 years, I had to mix it up!

I'm determined to do it this year, and thought this might help someone else!

http://www.biblegateway.com/resources/readingplans/

2009 - Let's do this!

This has been an interesting year to say the least. In my opinion, 2008 will not have fond memories for many, but rather one of, hmmm... "gnashing of teeth". Okay it wasn't that bad! The really cool thing is, there is always hope! There are mercies new to us each and everyday - enough to save the entire world, every single day! That's way rad. Can I get an Amen?

So in looking back over 2008, I've done some evaluation. What went great, what was terrible, what I could have done different - you get the picture. Evaluations are about as fun as a physical at the doctor's office, but they are vital to change! How does the doctor know what to treat if they don't know what's wrong. What are the symptoms of your "illness" at the moment? Are you tired, lukewarm, uninspired? If we are ever going to work on changing ourselves, it doesn't come easy. Change isn't usually in a basket floating down the river by the reeds, but rather, we have to go find it! Sometimes it's not an easy journey looking, sometimes we have to keep looking, but we are all better off when we do say, "that's it! that's what's been keeping me from developing further!"

Matthew 9:17 says, "Nor do they put new wine into old wineskins, or else the wineskins break, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But they put new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”

Here's what I'm working on for 2009 - I guess you could say my goals...

1) Read the Bible everyday - front to back by Dec. 31, 2009.
2) Pray everyday.
3) Organize my desk.
4) Purchase a home.
5) Sell my previous home.
6) Be a mentor.
7) Relax - my sister says I'm uptight.
8) Write 5 new worship songs.
9) Develop fruits in my spirit - kindness, patience.

10) Oh yeah - I'm about to start school - I'm getting my MBA!

Love everybody - keepin' it real.

B