PARK DAY!

Great times today at Lake Seminole Park with the young adults from Smiley's & Encounter (Indian Rocks First Baptist) =)


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R.U.N.!!

Last night I got the wonderful opportunity to speak at the middle school youth group for Calvary Chapel Fellowship in St Petersburg. This is one of the groups GTD is providing an Adventure Trip for next month.

Last night's message was titled R.U.N. (Retreat Unreservedly Now), and it's about how God has not called us to FLIGHT temptation, but rather to FLEE temptation. The enemy uses temptation to lure us down paths that kill, steal, & destroy our calling, our potential to glorify God, and our very lives. We are drawn towards temptation so when we try to fight it we end up prolonging our exposure to it and like the Tractor Beam in Star Wars it sucks us in to our demise. God's Word tells us to RESIST the devil, but not temptation... we are told over & over again to FLEE or RUN from temptation like Joseph did when Potiphar's wife tried to seduce him (Gen 39). But the more we stand and gaze at temptation, like Adam & Eve did (Gen 3) or King David did with Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11), then we guarantee our defeat. James 1:14,15 shows the progression of this process is that temptation lures & entices our own desires (cravings or fleshly appetites), desire gives birth to sin, sin grows, and sin goes on to bring forth death. Our only way to guarantee victory from this death spiral is to R.U.N. (1 Cor 6:18; 1 Cor 10:13-14; 2 Tim 2:22; Matt 26:41; Prov 7) as soon as our flesh is exposed to the enticement. R.U.N. as fast as you can away from death and towards the fullness of life in Jesus =)

After the message the youth pastor - Jarius Hodges - gave a very compelling salvation invitation. Glory to God, 1 girl received Christ last night and about 10 more youth rededicated their lives to Jesus!! Praise God!!

I go back tonight to speak to the high school youth group.

IRON SHARPENING IRON!

I'm still savoring our Adventure Trip with The Seed Church.

They had some pretty incredible leaders... the type of people who you walk away from better simply because of their love for God and the quality of their character.

Proverbs 27:17 says, "As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another." That pretty much sums up my week with them =)

DRENCHED! .... DRYING OUT WITH FRIENDS =)

We got hit with rain on the last day of camp which means we had to break camp while the tents were still wet. Over the past 2 days we've been looking for breaks in the rain so that we could set things out to dry.

On Thursday Carson & I got just enough sunshine to lay all the rainflies out to dry on the asphalt parking lot of our gear cache. Then the rain started again.

We drove to Easley, SC to visit our friends Jason & Heather, and they graciously opened their home up as a large dryer for our tents & hammocks. They let us use a blower, heater, fan, hairdryer, 2 ladders, their vehicle, their garage, and their driveway to help dry it all out.

With another break in the rain we were able to knock it all out in about 4 or 5 hours.

Jason & Heather's home looked like Tent City LOL! We were blessed to get to spend some quality time with them at their new house.

We stayed the night at their house on Thursday night and dried everything out all day Friday before boarding our cheap Allegiant flights at 11pm to head home for a few weeks before our next set of Adventure Trips.

It's actually cheaper for us to fly back than it is to drive back or stay up there. It also allows me to get a lot of office work (& hopefully home renovations) done between events.

We are so thankful for and blessed to have amazing friends like Jason & Heather who help enable us & GTD to do what we do! We can't thank them enough!

MINISTRY IS A TEAM SPORT!

THE END IS JUST THE BEGINNING!

Our Adventure Trip with Fearless Student Ministry ended yesterday, but our prayer is that it's just the beginning of many great things in the lives of these fantastic young people!

We had so much fun, and instantly connected with this wonderful ministry and their leaders.

You can check out all the pictures on our online photo album and re-live this instant classic!

Picture Link

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RAPPEL, HIKE, BLITZ BALL, LAKE SWIM, & PLENTY OF RAIN!

Our last full day with the awesome youth of FEARLESS STUDENT MINISTRY was full of rain, but it didn't dampen their spirits or turn their experience into a wet blanket =)

11 out of the 31 participants opted for the 5am wake up call for rock climbing & rappelling. We were trying to beat the rain. After an intense hike straight uphill we managed to complete the rappel before the rain started. We had a blast and the views were amazing, but unfortunately we weren't able to rock climb.

We met back up with the rest of the crew and enjoyed playing Blitz Ball and swimming in the nearby lake.

The youth bonded really well in just a few days. Although the rain may interfere with our plans, it actually forces people to become more creative and spend more time communicating... and that usually means building more relationship bonds.

Here are a few pics from our rappel including amazing mountain views!!

We love this group! The leadership is amazing and the kids are so much fun!

The Seed Church FEARLESS STUDENT MINISTRY (Savannah, GA) 2019 Adventure Trip

WATERFALL MANIA & MORE!

We had a blast at Baby Falls... sliding, riding, jumping... it was a non-stop day of pure fun!! Add in morning devotions, amazing sights, milkshakes, authentic fellowship, God moments, overcoming fears, availing prayers, growing friendships, bridge jumping, juicy watermelon, unforgettable moments, funny instances, campfire Bible messages, pizzadillas, and outdoor movie >>> aaaaaand you've got nearly the perfect day =).

We love these students, their leaders, and their church! It's amazing how much God can do in only a few days!

We're looking forward to what God has in store for us tomorrow =)

FEARLESS STUDENT MINISTRY ADVENTURE TRIP FROM THE SEED CHURCH OF SAVANNAH, GA!