The Pastor's Pack

winter 2010

2010-03-15T20:10:00.001-04:00

Our Driveway 30" of snow and 21 trees down. Come on Spring!!

At our nephew's wedding

2009-11-29T20:49:00.001-05:00

Pumpkins on the porch

2009-11-29T20:27:00.001-05:00

Loving the County Fair!!

2009-09-07T21:32:00.001-04:00

Oh no you di'un

2009-08-19T22:59:00.001-04:00

OpryLand Hotel was Beautiful!!!

2009-08-19T22:55:00.000-04:00

Grand Ole Opry

2009-08-19T22:49:00.000-04:00

Lunch in Jonesbourough Tn. July 09

2009-08-19T22:46:00.000-04:00

Tossing a little football with my boys!

2009-05-27T21:47:00.001-04:00

The beautiful Skyline Drive!

2009-05-22T08:51:00.002-04:00

Springtime on Hudson Hollow Rd

2009-04-30T21:54:00.003-04:00

The Tree Climbing Wonder Women

2009-04-13T11:14:00.002-04:00

The Silly Six

2009-04-13T10:52:00.004-04:00

Eric took about a dozen pics and never could get all of us looking at him at the same time. We don't follow directions well, huh? Sorry Tuck, for posting this one with your eyes shut. It was either you or me. You're a lot cuter with your eyes closed than I am.
In fact, you're a lot cuter period.

Easter 09

2009-04-13T10:46:00.003-04:00

It is always great to see the auditorium full of people!

Senor Ferocio Jaspero

2009-03-09T14:32:00.003-04:00

OK, I have finally become "that guy". That guy who refers to his pet as a member of the family. I have had, and enjoyed, dogs all my life. We've had pound puppies, beautiful labs and currently have an English Mastiff named Hoss. (Also a pig named Luvy, but that's another story.) Although I have enjoyed having a dog around, I have never been overly attached. I mean after all, its just a dog, right? You throw a few sticks, visit a few dog parks, provide food and water, and let them sleep in the basement on the coldest nights of the year. Well two weeks ago I did something I said I would never do. I bought an "inside" dog. I have never owned an animal that I had to share "living space" with. But, as a gift to my youngest daughter, we got a Chihuahua. Yes, I said a 1lb. "Taco Bell" Chihuahua. I am amazed at how quickly this little dog has etched his own place in all our hearts. In so much that he has become the third part of my, "Honey I'm home" routine. I kiss my wife, greet the kids, and, now, ask "Where's Fer-Ja. (His nickname). See there, He even has a nickname. (so as not to get it confused with his "legal" name....I guess). Why should I care where he is or how his day has been. He's just a dog for goodness sake! This hyper-attachment has been so evident that I had to take some time to consider; "Why such a difference?" I have concluded that the "active ingredient" concerning our increased affection is due to the fact that Ferocio is an INSIDE dog. I have long been convinced that relationships take on a whole new dynamic when we invite those people into our homes. I guess I never thought it would apply to the animal kingdom, but evidently it does. Senor Ferocio Jaspero ( I know, I know) has been a fresh reminder that our homes can be an accelerator for almost any kind of relationship. Since home is where the heart is. Those invited into our home share a special place in our heart.

Listen!!!

2009-01-30T22:11:00.001-05:00

For most of human history, books, letters, and the ability to read was rare. So, when the people of God would gather, most did not come toting their scrolls. Many would come to listen to the Word of God being read by one. The Apostle Paul would write one letter to one church which would be read to many. Few copies were made because most people couldn't read for themselves anyway. These listening masses had developed well trained ears. Ears to hear what the Spirit of God was saying while another human (priest,preacher,prophet) was speaking. They all gathered with an anticipation that God was going to speak while His Word was being read. Rev.3: 22 says "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches." There is, no doubt, great benefit in reading the Scriptures in order to memorize His Words. There is equal benefit, and a clear command, to study God's Word. However, this could lead to treating the Bible like a textbook. ie... Doctrines to be mastered and information to be assimilated. Both of which are
necessary for successful discipleship. Just don't forget to listen. Never waste an opportunity to hear from God. God is always interested in speaking a fresh word to his children. So, remember, while you are studying a word or a phrase or a passage to enlighten your head, don't forget to listen for a message that speaks to your heart.

A New Year or Another Year

2009-01-07T00:58:00.000-05:00

I do hope and pray that 2009 will be a NEW year!
I know that it is going to be another year, but whether or not it will be NEW is yet to be seen.
I can truly get excited about the prospects of a NEW year. Just having another year, however,
doesn't do much for me.
Don't get me wrong; I'm grateful to God to see another year and am thankful for His protection
and sustaining blessings. I do realize that there will be new experiences for me and my
family during this year, but I'm looking for something more. A New Year!
A newly discovered, deeper relationship with my wife. A new vision for and connection with my
children (some of whom are stepping into young adulthood). A new life for our Church. One that
is of more impact and effective. One that causes all of us who are involved to believe that we
are riding and not pushing what God is doing. A new and fresh walk with God. One that causes me
to discover more about myself and more about my God.
This all sounds good but we all know that talking about it doesn't make it NEW. In order to avoid
just another year, we must determine to live out some new routines.
If we listen to the same people, go to the same places, read the same kind of books, eat the same things,
do the same things, treat each other the same way, then as you would guess; it will be just another year and not really a NEW year.
Let me encourage you to chart a new course this year. One that takes you out of your comfort zone
just a bit. One that would lead you to a richer relationship with those who have been in your life for
a long time. One that will cause you to discover a new found strength within yourself. One that
will cause you to look back in twelve months and declare 2009 was a NEW YEAR!

The Holiday Season!

2008-10-29T22:38:00.002-04:00

It seems like the Holiday Season starts earlier and earlier every year. You can find Christmas decorations and Halloween candy at the same time in our stores. Families are already making plans with times and logistics concerning Thanksgiving Day; whose house do we go to first? What time are we going to eat lunch and will I be hungry by dinner time? And oh yeah, who does Dallas and Detroit play this year? Don't get me wrong, I love this time of year and I don't mind the Holiday Season starting in the first of November. My concern is that this Season just gets filled with more of the same; only magnified; over spending, disengaged relationships, over obligated, heightened stress and busier schedules. We'll need a holiday to get over the Holidays. My simple word of advice: Slow down, take your time, enjoy your family, make time to express your gratitude to your loved ones as well as to the Lord. And by all means spend some meaningful time considering, or reconsidering that greatest of miracles that was and is Christmas and what that means for us today! God with us! Not over us or above us or in front of us or away from us, but WITH us! Now that's thank worthy and worth celebrating!

Casual Not Careless

2008-09-28T23:52:00.002-04:00

We work at creating a casual and welcoming environment at VHC. We want our people to feel at home and comfortable while worshipping our Lord and serving together. We believe it is vitally important for people to be at ease in order for relationships to take hold, grow, and deepen. However, we must be careful not to allow a casual atmosphere to produce a careless attitude toward our faith and walk with the Lord. We are going to be taking a closer look at this challenge over the next few weeks at church. How does a person manage feeling truly comfortable while living a totally committed life to Christ? Enjoying a casual feel while living out a serious faith. I hope that you'll be able to be with us during this formative time for our Church.

A few days at Word of Life Camp Ground!

2008-07-10T10:21:00.006-04:00

Ronda and I have really been enjoying our time at Word of Life Camp this week located in Upper State New York.
Our young people have been on the Island and the ranch seem to be having a blast! Word of Life is well organized and well staffed. They have a ton of activities too. The most exciting thing, however, about this week is hearing about the decisions that have been made for Christ! How important it is for our young people to have the time during a busy summer to ponder what God would have for them and their lives. It warms my heart to see God at work among our youth.

What a Sunday!

2008-06-17T20:37:00.002-04:00

Thanks to all of you who made this past Sunday such an fantastic day!
There was a heightened level of excitement in the air and the feedback
about the day is still buzzing. I enjoyed the heart-felt worship and
appreciated the humbly spirited response to the message. The BBQ
after church was absolutely delicious and the volleyball was a lot of fun too.
Thanks to the VHC family and friends for a wonderful Sunday!

Open House This Sunday

2008-06-12T14:23:00.001-04:00

Two years ago we set sail in a new direction as Virginia Hills Church.
Believing God had a big job for us to do, we set out to finish our building
in order to fill our building. We have a few loose ends still
to attend to but we sure have come a long way. And we have you (the VHC family)
to thank for that. Thank you for putting up with living out of boxes for over a year
as we set up and took down our equipment while meeting in the Fire Hall. Thank you
for living with the inconvenience of placing your children in the nursery at one location
and attending our worship service in another. Thank you for adjusting to different
and fewer service times. Thank you for giving our new music and worship style a chance.
Thank you for getting our home based Bible study off the ground with such great success.
Thank you for putting up with a dusty, gravel drive way and parking lot. Thank you for
being willing to move back into an unfinished auditorium that had dusty concrete floors
and Sheetrock dust floating through the air. Thank you for overlooking my many managerial
blunders; when I promised to have something finished or inspected by a certain weekend only to
have it postponed again and again. If you did complain or were unhappy; thank you for making me feel
like you were having the time of your life.
The last two years has been the scariest, most nerve racking, most vulnerable, most fulfilling, most adventurous,
most joyous time of my life. Thank you for sharing it with me.

Great Things Are Ahead!

A great book!

2008-05-01T17:20:00.002-04:00

Just finished a great book for young people!
I plan to use the material for an upcoming message.
It's called "Do Hard Things" by Alex and Brett Harris.
It encourages teens to rebel against a culture that has
set too low of expectations for them. It challenges them
to discover the thrill behind a life fully lived even during
the teenage years. That real purpose brings more fulfillment
than continuous partying. It explains the risk in failing to
understand that the teen years are a launching pad into
the rest of your life. I would recommend it for teens and
parents of teens alike.

A New Bible Study and Time at VHC during April!

2008-03-07T14:40:00.003-05:00

Where in the WORD am I ?

I would like to personally invite you to an additional new Bible Study time at VHC. We are planning to meet at 10AM on Sunday Mornings during the month of April. We will meet from 10:00 AM till 10:40 AM. This will still give us time to fellowship a bit before the 11:00 AM service.
We are going to be looking at First Thessalonians. Paul wrote this letter to a group of brand new Christians just about six months after he had helped them form this new church in Thessalonica. For the most part these new believers were less than one year old in the faith. It is interesting to take note of the subject matter that Paul covered and the expectations he had for these infant believers. On a real practical level I think First Thessalonians could serve as a great measuring stick for our own spiritual growth, for those who are new in the faith and for us old timers. The "Where in the WORD am I?" series will serve as a Biblical GPS which will allow you to locate your spiritual maturity level. Are we on par with that original band of followers just six months into the Christian life or do we have need to go back and tack down some basics.
I hope you'll be able to be with us during the month of April.

Don't forget to sign up!

A great series by Andy Stanley

2008-02-15T16:56:00.003-05:00

Andy Stanley delivered a series of messages at his church a couple of
months ago that I found to be some of the most helpful that I've heard
in a long time. The series is called "How to BE rich". He makes a
destinction between "getting" rich and "being" rich. He shares a
passage of scripture where the Apostle Paul informs Timothy on how to
instruct those believers who have been blessed with riches.
We too in America have truly been blessed with more than we need.
This should not cause us to feel guilty but grateful. Our gratitude
should then lead us to be more responsible as we are some of the
richest people on the planet. Our goal is to learn to balance and
enjoy what God has blessed us with while we endevor to be a blessing
to others. I look forward to redelivering these messages to our people at Virginia Hills. Most of time when I use the thoughts and material of other pastors by the time I finish my own study and then personalizing those thoughts for our own folks my messages look nothing like the original body of work. However Andy's series on "How to be rich" is so well developed and universal in application I'm looking forward to simply repeating what he has said. I trust that this series will help us to realign our faith with our finances.

PS. If you enjoy listening to our messages online I would suggest you check out this particular series from Andy Stanley's web site. You will really enjoy their sermon library and Andy is a true artist at delivering a message.

Baggage Claim

2008-01-11T09:20:00.000-05:00

Isn't it interesting that after a plane flight we will be sure to find out where the baggage claim area is located? We will try to position ourselves so we will be close to where the baggage first appears on the conveyor belt. And most importantly we are quick to claim our baggage as soon as we identify it as our own. And in the event that someone else mistakenly picks up our baggage we do not hesitate to show them that the baggage they have claimed is really ours. But often time when it comes to the baggage of life; we behave completely different. We work hard at staying away from the baggage claim area or we pretend as if a baggage claim doesn't exist. Then, when we are escorted to this area we ignore our baggage in hopes that someone else will pick it up and take responsibility for it.
For the next three weeks at church we will be discussing what the Bible has to say about claiming our own baggage. The sooner we can identify and accept our own baggage the sooner we can unpack our stuff and properly put it away and the sooner we will be able to get on with life. I really believe that this upcoming series could truly revolutionize and re energize many who have been weighed down with the baggage that comes with life. I hope you will be able to be with us or visit with us online.

Special Guest Speaker

2007-10-29T14:14:00.000-04:00

Just a brief reminder that on Nov. 7Th @ 7pm Dr. Reichmann will be with us for a special Wednesday Night gathering. He will be presenting a demonstration concerning the deeper meaning of the Lord's Supper. I believe as you discover what the Passover meant to those early Jewish Christians and the changes that Jesus was instituting it will enrich your own experience each time you participate in Communion. I hope you will make plans to be with us.

Lets make a deal!

2007-09-22T20:45:00.000-04:00

We have a deal with the railroad company and I think everyone will feel like it is a fair one.
I'll share the details with everyone on Sunday! But right now I got to get ready to host a UFC event at the house!

Railroad Roundtable

2007-09-18T15:30:00.000-04:00

Yes, I have been working on the railroad. As I informed our Church this past Sunday; the Railroad is buying some of our land.
However, we found out yesterday that they will only need half of what we were previously told. We will not have to relocate our entrance and it looks like the big Oak tree gets to stay. We are still in negotiations concerning the cost for rerouting our driveway and part of the parking lot. I hope to have an update for you in a couple of days.

A Great Week!

2007-09-12T23:33:00.000-04:00

We finished with the paint in the auditorium and tomorrow the carpet goes in!
I'm sure the carpet will make a big difference in the acoustics. Thanks to the VaHills family
for putting up with the construction zone. Oh yeah, I almost forgot; Yesterday Ronda won two tickets
for Rascal Flatts. Now I have to be real nice to her for the next couple of weeks.

River Wild!

2007-08-18T12:16:00.000-04:00

I'm 40 years old and encountered a brand new experience yesterday. A small group from church went white water rafting in West Virginia on the New River. What a great time! We left from the church at about 5 AM and didn't get back until Midnight. We faced mostly class 3 and class 4 rapids with a couple that were class 4+. There were several opportunities to jump out of the raft and float in calm but deep (100') water and one opportunity to jump off a 20' rock for a big splash.
Just like life ,there is a lot about rafting that is counter-intuitive. For example, when you hit a big rock; lean into it and not away from it. Even when our guide was telling us to lean "right" into the rock, our first instinct was to go "left". He would then say, more authoritatively, "your other right!"
Having an experienced guide was absolutely essential!

Insightful Book!

2007-08-13T18:13:00.000-04:00

I'm working my way through a great book today.
I thought I would pass along the endorsement.
It's called "Church Marketing 101", written by Richard L. Reising.
I'm only half way through it but it has already been worth the investment.
It's more about being thoughtful toward those who have little church experience
than about any particular PR plan. Refreshing and thought provoking!

Read On!

Anderson Vacation '07

2007-08-09T20:01:00.000-04:00

What a great time we had on vacation!
We left Monday around 11:00 a.m. and by 1:00 p.m. we were looking for a tire repair shop. Oh yeah, almost a blow out on 95.
We "luckily" found a Wal-Mart with an EXPRESS tire repair shop. 4 hours later we were on our way!
We spent our first night at Great Wolf Lodge in Williamsburg. I think they have the largest indoor water park in the country. We all had a blast. They even let me go down a few of the tubes. (After they ran a tape measure around me and concluded that I wouldn't get stuck. Only once did they have to hook up a giant vacuum to suck me out. All kidding aside, I would recommend GWL as a great place for the entire family.
Tuesday thru Thursday we spent in Va. Beach. We rented one of those 4 wheel bicycles. It seemed like a great idea at the time but after 6 miles of peddling I could barely walk. Ronda and the kids wanted to walk the Boardwalk that evening but encouraged me to go back to the room to get some rest. The truth is they were embarrassed to be seen with me due to how I was walking. I was more than happy to waddle back to the room.
Wednesday morning we all went para sailing. 1000 feet above the ocean tethered to a boat. It was AWESOME! We spent the rest of the day playing on the beach. That was when I learned my most valuable lesson. Never leave your flip flops in the room. I got half the distance to the water when I realized that sand gets very hot. I RAN the rest of the way on the sides of my feet. I didn't think it was possible but you can blister the bottom of your feet when it is 104 degrees outside. My family got a big kick out of watching me make a bee line to the water. James was the first to stop laughing... after I took his flip flops for the return back to the room. That evening we attended East Coast Baptist Church with Pastor Chris Brown. A great church with a gifted pastor.
All in all? A great vacation. Even though alot of the laughter was at my expense it still had all the ingredients for a great time.
The entire family was together, a safe trip, and lots and lots of laughter! Oh yeah, I almost forgot; Snowcones!

Sunday was great!

2007-08-06T23:32:00.000-04:00

What a great blessing it was to meet on our own property yesterday!
We are still a few weeks away from having everything finished, but we can see the light at the end of the tunnel.
There were four special highlights to the day. First, the great attitude of our church family. Even though a lot of loose ends were very noticeable, our folks acted like everything was perfect. What awesome spirits they've shown over this last year. The second highlight was the number of guests that were with us. Maybe one of the most encouraging things about our church right now is that returning guests feel comfortable enough with us to invite their friends and family. We are honored that newcomers can so soon trust us that they feel confident in inviting others to attend as well. The third highlight has to be the cookout that followed. Without a doubt, we have the finest collection of cooks in the country! The final highlight was the fact that I played two volleyball games without collapsing on the field. All kidding aside, the V-ball was a blast!

Already looking forward to this Sunday!

Randall Anderson

Failing With The Lord.....?

2007-06-14T21:15:00.000-04:00

Have you ever felt confident that the Lord was with you and yet you were unable to succeed with the challenge at hand?
The first chapter of Judges, verse 19 states that the Lord was with the men of Judah and as a result they were able to conquer the people of the hill country. It's what you would expect, right? But then it says that they were unable to overcome the people of the plains because they (the people of the plains) had chariots of iron. As if to say that the help of the Lord can only do so much but human innovation and military prowess ultimately rules the day. It just doesn't add up against all the other stories of scripture. "Chariots of iron"? That's it? The people of God were no stranger to being outnumbered, outsourced, and overpowered. Consider them facing the Red Sea while being flanked by the most powerful army of the day, and yet the people of God crossed over victoriously because the Lord was with them. I just can't hear the Lord saying this time; "hey I'm sorry, I didn't know that they had chariots of iron, I mean what do you expect from me?". There has to be a more fitting explanation.
I think there is. Iron may be the key. The people of the plains had chariots that were fitted with iron (the newest and toughest metal to date) and it proved to be their reason for a successful resistance. The big question is where did the plains people get their iron? Not from the plains. Deuteronomy 8:9 says that Canaan Land is a place where iron and copper comes from the rocks and hills. Although the people of God were in charge of the hill country, they didn't run out all the inhabitants like they were commanded by God to do. I wonder if the people of the hills kept the plains people supplied with iron. I also wonder if God's people had done all they were commanded to do concerning the people of the hills, would the plains people been able to outfit their chariots with iron in the first place.
I think the greater lesson here is to be careful not to charge God with dropping the ball on our behalf when things are going awry but instead to retrace our own steps to see if there are some areas (seemingly unrelated to our present problem) that we have left unattended that the Lord wants us to give attention to. I'm not saying that we have to be perfect in order for God to work in our behalf and I'm not discounting God's grace for our shortcomings but maybe the reason today's meal seems a little spoiled is because it has been made with yesterday's leftovers.

Living Without A Cushion

2007-06-02T19:47:00.000-04:00

Today's speed of life leaves us with very little cushion. Many people feel overloaded! Most Americans live without any space ; No Margin for error or troubleshooting or just slowing down on purpose. Our days are packed so full of activity that any unexpected event can throw us into a frazzled wreck. Not only do we live with little or no cushion concerning our time and schedule but our finances mirror this predicament. An unexpected dentist visit or auto repair can have a ripple effect through our bills for several months. I thought that today's tech. advances were supposed to give us more time for the truly more meaningful things such as family and relationships. It seems to me that many people are more disconnected and disengaged with their loved ones than in previous generations. King Solomon said that he would rather have one handful with quietness than two handfuls with travail and vexation of spirit. Solomon learned that He could have anything; but he couldn't have everything.
How does adding a little "quietness" to your life sound?
I read a great article by the late Howard McClusky. A professor from the University of Michigan. McClusky said that there are two key factors in understanding your own margin or cushion. He defined margin as the space between you and your limits.
The first factor is Load: There are two parts to this LOAD: External Load; responsibilities, tasks, career, family and so on. The second part is an Internal Load; Personal ambition, goals, self expectation. The second factor is Power: The ability to carry your load. When determining ones power you must consider things like your physical, social(support from others), mental, economic, skills, and spiritual well being. Cushion is created when you have a little more power than you need to carry your normal load. Then the unexpected moments can be taken in stride in stead of setting off a domino effect of huffing and puffing, sighing and stress.
For those who need a little cushion the objective is to reduce your load or increase your power; or a little of both. The weakness to this formula of C=L/P (Cushion equals Load over Power) is that there are no set values. Every one's values will be different. What one person considers a heavy task may not be heavy to another and what one person draws great strength from may not be so valuable to another. So everyone has to assign value to their own loads and their own power.
My hope is that this post would cause us to take a few moments to reevaluate the speed and meaningfulness of our own lives and determine whether or not we have enough cushion for the moments when we hit an unexpected bump or two. Does the lack of cushion cause us to get stressed and distracted from the more important things in our lives?

May your cushions be enlarged!

Randall

MOM

2007-05-10T18:55:00.000-04:00

President Lincoln referred to his mother as "my angel mother". I would say he was exaggerating a bit but then I feel like that is an adequate description of my own mother: without any pretense. She was and is the quintessential mom. She lived for her kids. She was, I believe, as selfless as humanly possible. Her leisure time was spent on us. Her best years were spent on us. Her spare money was spent on us. Even before "purpose in life" was popular; her purpose was us. Her hobby was us.
She never got wrapped up in stuff, shopping, t.v. shows, pets, or political affairs. It seemed to me that she was fully engaged in raising her kids. If she ever resented us or her life in any way, I never picked up on it. It seemed to me that raising us, running a household, and helping her husband brought much joy and satisfaction to her life. The only other thing that she ever devoted herself to outside of her family was and is her relationship with the Lord and His Church.
Mom was born in the mid 1930s in Seco, Kentucky and raised in Wise, Virginia in a place called Adkins Hollow. She was a real coal miners daughter. Her dad who could barely read and write was her first real hero. Though the coalmines, in those days, had a way of wearing a mans body out, her dad still had enough energy to provide plenty of love, guidance and protection to her and her eight other brothers and sisters. Her childhood was of a typical Appalachian account. She had a little more schooling than the average kids of her day. She attended the Hurricane School through sixth grade and finished up at Wise Middle School.
Her first job outside of home was at the Kline Cleaners and Royal Laundry. She worked all week for $18. She has never been accused of being lazy. She has not had a so called "job" most of her adult life and yet if you asked ten people, who know her, to describe her, the words "hard working" would come up ten out of ten times. Mother is not only not afraid of work, she goes looking for it. Even at her age today, as long as she has a purse full of snacks, she could work circles around most thirty-somethings.
She met my dad in 1954 and in 1959 Her, my Dad, and their first child, Raymond moved to Manassas, Virginia. Dad started the family business of plumbing and Mom started the business of Family. Rita and myself came along in the mid 60s and then when Mother was almost 40 she had the twins, Russell and Regina.
As a married couple I know Mom and Dad had their ups and downs, like every other couple, but she was a master at making our lives stable and secure. In fact the word "stable" may be the best word to describe my childhood. For the first eighteen years of my life we lived on the same street, attended the same church, Dad had the same job, and Mom was always at the same place: Home. We even had the same phone number for crying out loud. Dad was busy working for us and Mom was busy working on us. When we got off the right path she would chase us down and drag us back if need be. When we misspoke, she spoke up. When we got out of line, she pushed us back in. She was never a "do as I say and not as I do" kind of woman. She led by example. She went to church every time the doors were open. I've never heard her say a curse word, and I've never seen her act in way that would be unbecoming as a Christian. She laid the spiritual foundation for our entire family and today all five of her kids are following her faith.
Mom, I hope you know how much we love you! And rest assure we know how much you love us.
Thanks for staying with Dad, Thanks for staying at home, and Thanks for staying on us.

Happy Mother's Day

Inspections!

2007-05-02T13:09:00.000-04:00

We have two important inspections scheduled for our Church this coming week.
One is for a final on our Childrens Department and the other is for the electrical rough-in for our auditorium. The passing of both of these are obviously vital to us moving forward in completeing our building. Please pray that both inspections will pass without a glitch.
I am so ready to move into our new facility! I appreciate the Va. Hills Family for being so patient and supportive.

Two Women

2007-04-23T12:22:00.000-04:00

I was rereading the story of D.L. Moody this week and it struck me in a fresh way what a vital role those two praying women played in his ministry. Moody's ministry was already a great success and yet these two ladies believed God wanted to do something more.(Even when Moody was satisfied with what was taking place). These two women(Auntie Cook & Mrs. Snow) provoked Mr. Moody to explore Spirit Fullness. At first Mr. Moody was somewhat offended that these two ladies believed that something was missing from his ministry. But soon, Moody himself began to long to know God in all His fullness. God answered and Mr. Moody's ministry expanded to global proportions.
Dear God, give us more women (and men) like those to ladies who have an awareness of the lack of spiritual unction concerning our ministries, and who will take it upon themselves to make a difference through prayer.
Lets ponder a couple of questions: Do we even sense a need for spiritual power? Are we willing to do the prayer work necessary to make up the difference?

Our hearts go out to VT

2007-04-17T21:17:00.000-04:00

These kinds of tragedies leave you wanting to do something and yet often times your not sure what to do. You can certainly continue to pray for the families involved whether you personally knew any of the victims or not. Also, I would like to express our sympathies as a church family. If you know or hear of any local family who has lost a loved one in this tragic event please let us know.

Good ol' Friends

2007-04-17T20:40:00.000-04:00

My wife and I just spent the last couple of hours with good friends who use to live in our area and we went to church together. They moved away about a year ago and we really hadn't spent much time with them since. It was as if we never missed a beat. One of the greatest fringe benefits of being a child of God is being a member of the family of God. Friends who can relate to your struggles with no pretense and yet share a sincere desire to be used of the Lord. Friends who you could trust with your own reputation. Friends like this are rare but real.
If you have such friends like this, you are blessed, I would encourage you to express your appreciation to them sometime this week.

Sunday Snapshot

2007-04-15T21:25:00.000-04:00

It's been a full day! It started this morning at 5:30 a.m., leaving for Front Royal by 6.
We played our last Football game of this session this morning at 7:45 a.m.. Man, was it a close one. We almost won. The score was 36 to 0. Well, o.k., so it wasn't that close.
We did have a great time.
Well, o.k., so we didn't have a great time. We at least finished the season without giving up. Who ever said "winning is not everything" was right but winning sure does make everything else a whole lot more fun.

We did have a great time at church today despite the nasty weather. It's always encouraging to see new faces in the crowd. I had a lot of fun with the new series. Today's message was called "If I only had a brain". I talked about the importance of seeking counsel. I was reminded how many people I count on for guidance and all the great examples and mentors that I have benefited from in my own life. I promised myself that I would express my appreciation to several folks this week who have invested in my life over the years by their words and ways.

This evening we visited a friend who just lost his youngest son in a car accident. I know he was broken on the inside but it was very evident that he was relying on the Lord for strength. How do people handle things like that without leaning upon God? Ronda and I were talking on the way home, in light of our recent loss, with the death of her mom; how does people get through things like this if they don't have the hope of heaven and the promises from Christ that we will be reunited with our loved ones again. The Lord sure is good!

Well, it's 10p.m. and I've been on auto pilot for over 16 hours straight. It is time to find the landing strip. To all of you who call Virginia Hills your church home; thanks for being such a blessing and allowing me to have the greatest job in the world. Blog you later!

Sight & Sound

2007-04-14T18:05:00.000-04:00

43 of us from VHC went to Lancaster, Pa. yesterday to take in the new production at Sight and Sound Theater. It was called "In the Beginning". The presentation was absolutely wonderful and the Cinnamon almonds were delicious as usual. The actors, live and animated animals, and the detailed set designs are world class! I would encourage everyone to make plans to attend. The story lines always bring up new insights and considerations. It reminded me of how much the Lord desires voluntary obedience and admiration. It's always been His choice to give us a choice. Real love and devotion can't be forced. He wants us to love, follow, and obey Him. He also wants us to want to love, follow, and obey Him. I regret that I have not always done the God-honoring thing but I'm thankful that God did not create me as a robot. He's given me a choice and His grace gives me a chance to discover liberty in Christ.

It's a Start!

2007-04-12T21:41:00.000-04:00

Thanks for stopping by. You have stumbled upon my first post. I have been looking forward to getting my blogging up and running for some time. I think it will be another effective way to communicate with friends and family of Virginia Hills Church. My hope is that the chatter and discussions will be uplifting (Up Words) and thought provoking. I welcome you to join in the discussion and share your insights and opinions.