Hey everyone!! It was soooo good to see everyone last night!! Jon, Claire, we missed you!! Hope that you are feeling better, Mrs. Claire!! Let us know if you need anything!!

Baby Alexis, we are soooo glad you are on your way to feeling better all of the time!!

See you all soon,
Susan

Join - Philippians 3:17-21

Pastor Trent finished up his series on LIFE this past Sunday. We've been taking a walk through the third chapter of Philippians and looking at the way Paul "encourage" the church at Philippi to live the life.

Going to be honest with you, this last message in this series was a beating...Paul makes it very clear that you are one of two things: You are either an enemy of the cross or you are a citizen of heaven. As we approach life with a Christian worldview we can understand that statement to a certain extent. We look at this senario as: You are either on God's side in this thing or you are against him. Maybe we even simplify things more by using "Christian terminology" and say: You are either saved or lost. That makes sense right?

Time out though...a closer look at the Scriptures and understand the importance of keeping it all in context shows us that that is not the issue here. We are not talking about lost vs. saved. Paul is writing this letter to the church. He is confronting those who have placed their hope of eternity in this Jesus. The reality of the situation is that as "believer" we can still be enemies of the cross. We can still be the cause for someone to not get the full picture of Christ in us. The things of the world have become more important to us than the things of God.

Okay then, how do we make sure that we are living life as citizens of heaven? Paul gives instruction to that. According to Scripture we can 1.) follow the example set by others who understand their citizenship (vs. 17) and 2.) Live as though Jesus could come back to get you today (vs. 20-21).

This is not to just be dismissed as another message. To me this is something that required self evaluation, or as I use to call it when I was doing student ministry, "spiritual inventory". We have to ask ourselves the tough question:

Am I living my life as an enemy of the cross or as a citizen of heaven?

Just something to think about...





(this is how I felt after this message on Sunday. PS - I'm the dog...)

ZS

Choke City?

Mav's out in the first round...Stars out in the first round (who cares I know)...Cowboys last year out in the first round...Rangers, maybe next year...Cowboys this year out in the first round (at least their first round)...

Have we really become choke city?

Go back a little further, Mav's up 2-0 on the Heat and a strangle hold on a 3-0 lead...again, choke. That one still hurts to think about.

I really don't have any solutions to the problems, I'm just sayin'...at this point Big D is becoming more and more Choke City, USA.

Our Hearts Don't Deserve Your Glory...

I've just been continually reminded lately of the goodness of our Creator. Why is it that He continues to open up His skies and rain down blessings on us? Not only have I seen this in my personal life and with my family but also with what he is doing at Gateway right now.
It's humbling to think that the God of everything cares so intimately about a group of people in Royse City, TX.
Incredible...we don't deserve such goodness...
ZS

It's 2:00 am and I've been thrown up on 3 times

Not real sure this blog needs any other info added to it. These are the times you know you are truly a parent...

Joy Comes In The Morning

I was just thinking about how we all go through "stuff" that makes us feel like things may not ever get any better than they are right now. As flaud and selfish individuals we often say things like, "why is this happening to me?". We all encounter seasons in our lifes where we think things can't get much worse, then inevitably they do. Famous last words, right...These are the valleys of life. Will things ever get any better than they are right now?
The opposite side of that is the mountain top experience. Life is great, everyone is your friend, you're getting good grades, you're pleasing your spouse, you're performing at work, your kid's look at you like you're Superman, your lawn is perfectly manicured, your parents think you are the greatest son (or daughter) ever and you have a dozen hallmark cards to prove it...just in general, life is great. And you thing, is it possible for life to ever get any better than this?
To speak to the first, the valley, I want to remind you...people always say that you have to go through the valley to appreciate the beauty of the mountain. But, I've also heard it said that you have to go through the valley to appreciate the beauty of the valley. This is profound because, again we must remind ourselves, we are not the only ones who go through valleys. The victory that you find in coming out of your valley could help to pull someone else out. Do we look for opportunities to encourage the discouraged and love the unlovely?
So, how about the mountain? Well, occasionally you're going to piss someone off (oh, can I say piss on here?), you're going to flunk an exam, you're going to forget to put your underwear in the dirty clothes hamper, you're going to be late to work, your kids will become embarassed by you, you'll get weeds in your yard, and you will forget to call your mom on her birthday.
The thing that struck me tonight though is...how do we respond to our God when we are in the "valley" or on the "mountain top"? Because you see, whatever you are getting is better than what you deserve. Have you ever given much thought to that? We all deserve an eternity seperated from the One good thing that is in this world...a loving Creator. I bet you didn't see this blog going to the "you're a scum bag" thing, huh? This is the truth though. We are so conditional. If life is all good, we are all good and singing the praises of our goodness. If life sucks, we are sour and not much fun to be around.
Aren't you glad God's love and favor is not as conditional as we are? He loves with an everlasting love.
Though your sorrow may last for the night...joy comes in the morning. Now, how will your face today. Will your circumstances dictate your attitude and love for people?

SYATP '07 (See You At The...Printer)

We are calling a generation of 20 and 30 something's to pray at the community printer at their place of business on the 2nd Wednesday in October. This is an opportunity to see revival break loose in your office. We see this as the next big thing is corporate, community prayer.
So, mark your calendars, spread the word and I'll see you at the PRINTER!

See You At The Printer was co-founded by Marc McCartney (yea, Coach Bill's son) and Zach Snow (who?) at the office of BlueFish TV and The Rightnow Campaign in Richardson, TX in April of 2007.