DEMOLISHING STRONGHOLDS

I recently finished reading, "Demolishing Strongholds" by Johnny Hunt (it was part of an 8 week men's Bible study at Calvary Church of Clearwater). It's a fantastic book that deals head-on with common struggles among men (pride, greed, pornography, inaction, etc) that tend to become deep-rooted habitual self-destructive behaviors ("strongholds") that not only limit our potential and push away God's desired blessings, but also act similarly in our lives as a very treatable (and preventable) chronic disease slowly killing our spiritual life as well as our quality of life. The ironic thing about most strongholds is that we are the ones who invite them into our lives and give them residency, comfort, and nourishment. Strongholds thrive on our own foolishness, lack of self discipline, and apathy. God gives us the wisdom, self discipline, and fighting spirit to overcome any and all strongholds in His power, but we tend to ignore these options and opt to feed the enemies within instead of starve them to death. The payoff for keeping the stronghold is usually an instant short-term emotional & psychological thrill. BUT it comes at a high price typically costing us our joy, freedom, peace of mind, fullness of life, closeness to God & others, longevity, full potential, greater opportunities, future, marriages, friendships, and the list of casualties goes on and on. The capacity to demolish strongholds is one of the many things Jesus came to provide through His death and resurrection (aka: Happy Easter!). The amazing gift of God to enable us to engage in spiritual warfare and valiantly fight to take back lost territory currently occupied by the enemy is, in actuality, the ultimate opportunity to live out Gladiator & Braveheart everyday. This real life fight is better than any movie or video game ever created. And the real life ecstasy that is experienced by regaining each inch, each yard, each acre of your lost & stolen territory is almost indescribable. It's possible. It's real. And it's AMAZING! But it doesn't just happen. You have to be intentional. You have to be strategic. You have to be partnered with the power of the Holy Spirit and armed with a sharp sword (God's Word) & a shield of faith. And just as importantly you have to FIGHT. Relentlessly. Ruthlessly. Ferociously. You have to run to the battle draw your sword and take on every occupier of your territory. With each advancement you'll gain back lost freedom, lost joy, lost fullness of life, lost fruit, lost respect, lost opportunities, lost potential. You'll be unleashed. Unstoppable. Nothing will be out of reach. Pick a stronghold. Develop a wise strategy with The General. And fight like a WARRIOR! Your freedom is worth it! Demolish your strongholds in Jesus name!!

PS: Thank you Calvary Church of Clearwater (and many other churches) for investing in men's ministries! Eternity will one day show the eternal dividends of this investment =)

STRiVE to THRiVE!

GOOD FRIDAYS GIVE BIRTH TO RESURRECTION SUNDAYS!

Happy Good Friday!! One of the endless things I love about being a Christian is having a Christ-centered perspective. Who celebrates the death of an innocent honorable faithful man? We do! Or more personally, I do! What may appear as bad news to the natural perspective is actually good news to supernatural perspective. In order for new ways to begin old ways have to die. In order for new transformations to happen old systems have to die. In order for new liberation to live old bondages have to die. When eternal life & the fullness of life are the direct result of the death of someone who intentionally selflessly dives on the mother of all grenades in order to absorb the shrapnel of sin, self destruction, and eternal separation from God it becomes a day for the rescued to celebrate! Today I celebrate my Hero & Best Friend - Jesus - who lovingly, courageously, & selflessly took all of my sin and the shell fragments that would have shredded my body and soul into and onto Himself. To be so lavishly loved is an everyday reality for the Christian who walks with a renewed mind. Today I celebrate Jesus dying on the cross as "good" because I know it translates into something great. Happy Good Friday friends! We have so much to celebrate! (Not the least of which is that Resurrection Sunday is on the way!)


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MOON RISES. FIRE BURNS. MEN PRAISE!

Here's a great shot of the Feather Sound Church men singing praise & worship songs under the stars while around the fire. MAN CAMP had gotten off to a powerful start. Looking fwd to a full day of MANtivities!

CAMP LIFE!

MAN CAMP HAS BEGUN...

...WITH A NIGHT CLIMB!

MAN CAMP STARTS TODAY!

GTD is excited to be hosting Feather Sound Church's 2-Day MAN CAMP which is kicking off today! We expect it to be a MAN-TASTIC time full of MANtivities and just the right amount of MANual labor camp work propelled by God given MAN-power!

Man, that was a fun post to write!

CAMP LIFE!

GTD OFFICE & HOME SEARCH

I've been blessed to live and work from a 1000 sq ft office / apartment above a boat dealership & classic car garage for the past 12 years. The monthly rent amount has been incredible. The owners are amazing people and have blessed our ministry immensely (Thanks Dom & Clide Forte!). I never thought I would be here this long. And now it's time to start packing up and transitioning to another place locally. The owners need the space for immediate needs, and it's time for me to make a wise investment and become a home / GTD office "owner" (I'm actually the manager... God owns it all!). For the past 4 months I've become addicted to Zillow. I've gone to approximately 35 open houses. I've gone from about a 3rd grade understanding of real estate to a solid middle school level thanks to some great family members and friends. I've got a great Mortgage Lender (Thanks Adam & Heather Zima!). I've received my pre-approved loan amount. I've got an experienced & savvy Realtor (Thanks Debbie Schmidt!). I've got a highly recommended Home Inspector (Thanks PPI!). And, if the seller is willing, I've got a phenomenal Closing Company (Thanks Dana R. Ward!). While all of this may be a stress inducing event to many people, it has been nothing less than a thrilling & exciting undertaking for me. I've loved the entire process! It's the largest purchase in a person's life and I'm divinely blessed to be completely worry free (Thanks Jesus!). I'm filled with so much anticipation and faith about this journey. It's so much fun to grow, and learn, and dream, and embrace new challenges. It's an extremely time consuming process so it has absorbed a lot of work & personal time... in fact, it has felt like a 2nd full time job - but it has all been time well spent. And now I'm to the point of starting to make offers. So I'm asking our prayer warriors to pray for me / us / GTD... for wisdom, discernment, divine opportunities, and faith-filled decisive actions. I'm excited about what lies ahead - even busted water pipes and all the unexpected home repairs. It's part of "owning" something. So here we go on a whole new adventure of another kind!! Thanks for your prayers & support!! I believe this will continue to launch GTD to new levels in so many ways... and I can hardly wait for the path ahead =). More updates to come!


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PRAY FOR JIM!

We are asking for your fervent prayers. Our dear friend and former GTD Costa Rica Missions Director, Jim Butski, had a stroke last night. We are shocked. Jim was just here in Dec and stayed with me for 3 weeks while visiting friends and was in good health. Jim is only 46. He is in the Neurological ICU at Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, MI. Jim loves Jesus, outdoor adventure, and serving others. He knew the signs of a stroke and had a friend call 911 immediately. He was able to get to a hospital quickly and receive meds designed for stroke victims. The meds worked at first, but Jim may have had a 2nd stroke a little while later. The stroke has caused paralysis on his left side. I was able to speak with him & pray with him this morning. We are praying for his healing and full restoration of his body. Thank you prayer warriors!


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NOW PLAYING...

It's a perfect night for a campfire, hot chocolate, smores, and a family friendly outdoor movie! Building memories one moment at a time =)

CAMP LIFE

CAMP LIFE... BUILDING EVERY DAY ON A ROCK SOLID FOUNDATION!

One of many things I love about being involved in camp ministry is the honor and privilege of starting each day off with morning devotions. Lifetimes are broken down into years, months, weeks, and days. Each day is a 24 hour obstacle course that is infinitely more exciting than any video game full of opportunities, pitfalls, do-overs, and temporary & permanent consequences. Life is a high stakes game with eternal ramifications. Our lifetimes are built day by day, moment by moment, choice by choice. The absolute best choice you can make each day is to start it upon the firm foundation of God's Word in God's presence. During this time you get a daily briefing and guidance that helps you navigate every choice and every obstacle of the day. This morning Relevant Church spent time clustered together in family units reading the Bible, praying together, and discussing truth & decision making. It was a great time of impact that we recommend each family do on a regular basis. We loved listening to the discussions and watching the family interactions! This is a wonderful church!!

CAMP LIFE!

It's Relevant! Day 1

We kicked off the Relevant Church 3-Day Family Camping Retreat with 36 people yesterday! Let the good times roll!!

IS IT RELEVANT??? YES IT IS!

March Madness continues tomorrow as we host Relevant Church for their first ever family camping retreat with GTD!! And the weather is absolutely PERFECT! We can't wait!

Stay tuned for some action pics as we embark on a great family adventure over the next 3 days =)

NOTHING BUILDS BETTER FAMILY BONDS FASTER THAN CAMPING TOGETHER =)

A COMMITMENT TO CAREGIVING

My Dad, Traci, Laurie, and I just finished the inaugural 8 session Caregiver Course offered (FOR FREE) by First Baptist Church of Indian Rocks. It was literally a gold mine of knowledge, insights, resources, love, and Godly encouragement. We've always been committed to being here for our parents as they age and transition into their golden years of life, but had very little idea of exactly what that looks like. This course supplied an incredible wealth of knowledge that will prepare and equip us for the road ahead while saving us from time squandering, energy wasting, and costly trial & error mistakes. In addition, it exposed us to amazing people, opportunities, and resources we would have never known were available that can help lighten the labor of love that lies ahead. We have been so blessed to have parents that have sacrificed and cared for us for our entire lives, and now we are honored and privileged to repay in a comparatively small way that blessing back to them.

We would like to thank Mike Thompson, Brad Graham, & Pastor Tom Owens for seeing the need and taking the initiative of starting this Caregiver Course that is literally already impacting lives!! Thank you men of God for your hard work and giving hearts!!

And I love that God declares it as a "Top 10 Priority" to honor our parents.

- Deuteronomy 5:16: “Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may go well with you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you."

- 1 Timothy 5:4,8: “But if a widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn to show godliness to their own household and to make some return to their parents, for this is pleasing in the sight of God... But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”

It won't be easy, but nothing of value in life is easy.

IN CASE OF EMERGENCY DIAL 911... PROVERBS 9:11 THAT IS!

"For by me [wisdom] your days will be multiplied, and years will be added to your life."

This is just one of many profound ways that APPLIED WISDOM impacts your life.

2 of the BEST investments of your time is at "A.A." ....
A - Acquiring Wisdom
A - Applying Wisdom

Check out the book of Proverbs (and the entire Bible) for life producing & life giving principles that literally increase your quantity & quality of life =)

STRiVE to THRiVE!

TRANSFORMATIONS GIVE BIRTH TO TRANSFORMATIONS!

Today we transformed a backyard into a campground that became a place of spiritual transformation through praise, worship, prayer, teaching, and fellowship. Our annual Men's Advance Camping Trip with Calvary Church of Clearwater is off to a great start!! We love these guys!

><> CAMPLIFE <><

"MARCH"ING ON! (Happy New Month!)

So much going on that I haven't had much time to post updates lately. I'm celebrating 7 months of consistent daily disciplines that continue to bless and launch my life. For 2018 I'm focusing on a different life priority each month and acquiring as much wisdom as I can about that subject in my spare time and then phasing in those truths into my regular lifestyle. As I transition from month to month I continue to maintain and grow in the previous months' lessons. January was all about nutrition as I learned about and adopted the ketogenic diet. I'm 6 weeks into my new nutrition plan and I absolutely love it! I continue to tweak it and customize it to my own body's needs and uniqueness, but I'm experiencing some good results... and it fits perfect with my daily schedule. February was all about financial health. I loved reading "The Richest Man In Babylon" and having a lot of paradigm shifts in my understanding of universal financial principles. In many ways, like so many truths, it's very simple. It just comes down to having the discipline to apply it. Now I'm moving on to March. This month's focus is about "Infrastructure". What I mean by that is that in order to live life at a higher standard you have to create a framework (aka: infrastructure) that supports each change and improvement. When God created the universe He started working with nothing. The earth was without form and void. Then each day He added structure, borders, boundaries, seasons, and timeframes that would serve as an infrastructure to sustain and propel life. In a similar way (especially since we are created in His image) we have an amazing opportunity to create a life with wise structures, borders, boundaries, seasons, and timeframes that help us live out His call on our lives and our fullest potential. I've spent the past 7 months experimenting with and tweaking an effective morning and nightly routine as well as an optimized work schedule and seasonal adjustments. Now this month I'm focusing on putting it all together into a strategic framework and solid infrastructure that supports everything that God has been teaching me and the direction that He is propelling me in life and ministry. All I can say is that with each new lesson comes a greater blessing in my life that makes me more effective in how God made me, more reflective of His glory, and even more fulfilled & satisfied in this amazing adventure called life. I'm sure it probably sounds very boring to anyone who may have read this far into my post, but it is a thrilling experience to me. So I write about it. Healthy discipline picks up where motivation stops and unlocks the door to fantastic discoveries and indescribable breakthroughs. All it takes is some wisdom, some discipline, and some fight to tear down strongholds and self imposed limitations. Christ is the source, but we have to apply it in order to experience it.  Lord willing, I'm looking forward to what lies ahead for the month of March and beyond =)

STRiVE to THRiVE!