MINISTRY PARTNER MAILOUT

We've been working hard for the past few weeks preparing for our annual Ministry Partner Mailout. It's a time when we can give back some gifts to our supporters as a small token of our deep love & appreciation for the vital role they play as investors in our ministry. It has been a phenomenal year and we are blessed with some of the greatest supporters in the world! In God's economy the sower, the waterer, and the harvester are equally indispensable in the process of bearing fruit. This ministry is bearing a lot of fruit and we have a small army of people to thank. God bless you supporters, prayer warriors, and encouragers!!! We couldn't do what we do without YOU!! We love you and praise God for you!

(PS: the annual mailout is a couple of months behind due to the house / office move... but, praise God, we are getting caught up on so much!!)

GO WEST TO HIKE SOME OF THE BEST WITH GTD!

One of the great developments this year in our ministry is that GTD has become FULLY EQUIPPED to outfit backpacking groups of up to 12 people to amazing once-in-a-lifetime locations in Utah, Colorado, & Arizona. Our list of destinations is growing year by year, but includes the Grand Canyon, Havasu Falls, Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon, Arches, and southwestern Colorado.

God's majesty can be seen everywhere in His creation, but there is something unique and amazing about the western United States. People come from all over the world every year to experience what the U.S. has to offer out west. To many, out WEST is simply the BEST!

GTD is excited to take you there for a God-awesome trip of a lifetime! So keep your eyes open for our 2019 GTD West Trips... you don't want to miss them!

(PS: Considering a private adventure out west for your group next year? Contact GTD to custom build a Christ-centered adventure to the west! GTD Adventure Line: (727) FYI-9-GTD [394-9483] / Toll Free Adventure Line: 1-888-697-2479)

Giddy up!


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HUGE UPDATE! MINSITRY RECEIVES $45k INTEREST-FREE LOAN!!

Over the course of the next month or so I will be posting updates and progress reports from 2018 that we haven't had a chance to share yet.

This year has been moving at warp speed and with the big (and time consuming) move to the new property along with running our yearly programs it has been impossible to get all the updates posted. So now is the time!

One of the first updates is a BIG ONE! Earlier this year one of our supporters used their personal money to give GTD an interest-free (0%!!) $45,000 loan to shift a majority of our remaining debt incurred during The Great Recession away from various loans with interest rates. That's a BIG DEAL!! The selfless generosity of this supporter translates into much lower monthly payments and thousands of dollars saved in interest charges over the course of the next few years as we continue to eradicate all debt. It's a GAME CHANGER that more firmly stabilizes GTD and prepares to launch us towards greater things in the years ahead.

We can't thank our magnanimous friends enough for their selfless act. We even offered to pay them some sort of interest so that they would receive something, but they refused to take anything. We are so blessed to know such generous, thoughtful, and selfless heroes that lay down their own "interest" for the "interest" of others (pun!). God bless you generous friends!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!

"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others." - Philippians 2:3-4

2 WEEKS AWAY FROM HIKING THE NARROWS!

It's almost here! We are just a couple of weeks away from hiking 16 miles in the Virgin River and camping overnight in one of the most extraordinary places on earth - The Narrows of Utah's Zion National Park. Beyond thrilled!!!

ONE OF THE GREATEST YEARS OF MY LIFE!!! CELEBRATING 1 YEAR OF INCREASED DISCIPLINE!!

Just over one year ago God challenged me to make a paradigm shift in how I approach life from primarily being passion driven "pulled" (led by my heart) to becoming primarily discipline directed "pushed" (led by wisdom). I've always had good discipline, but God challenged me last year to allow Him to develop a championship level of healthy discipline in my approach to life. What does that look like? It's the difference between working out (or any other healthy priority) when I "feel" like it verses working out (or any other healthy priority) at a set time on set days regardless of whether I feel like it or not. That goes for everything - eating healthy, drinking primarily water, daily devotions, sleep habits, washing dishes, taking out the garbage, getting my annual physical, attacking the day early, calling friends... literally just about every activity you do in the course of your day. Living more disciplined hasn't been boring at all. It has actually led to a greater abundance of freedom, health, peace of mind, effectiveness, fruitfulness, and consistency. It has led to one of the best years of my life!! Self control / self discipline is one of the fruits of the Spirit (I would argue that it's the one fruit that holds all the others together). It's the very first tool & instruction God gave to Adam to navigate in a world with free access to temptation and disobedience (sin) to God's design for our lives. It's probably the most dominant trait in the greatest missionary that ever lived (the apostle Paul) as well as his admonishment to us to live a life that "wins the prize". Healthy self discipline sounds extremely boring and rigid, but it leads to some of the greatest satisfactions in life! It enables us to live out or "shoulds" before it's too late and they become "have-to's" in order to survive. Healthy self discipline leads to a whole lot of freedom, inner satisfaction, fulfilled potential, intimacy with God, and fruitfulness for God's glory while eliminating regrets, inconsistency, strongholds, wasted days, ineffective prayers, inefficient hours, and a lack of free time. It may be the single most important character trait that unlocks every other character traits, benefits, and opportunities. It isn't prideful self reliance; it's intentionally plugging into God's wisdom and the Holy Spirit's power. I'm only 1 year into it and I can't wait to see the compound interest in blessings and breakthroughs as I embark on my 2nd year. I'm not at a championship level of discipline yet, but I'm way further along than I was a year ago and pushing forward to that championship level that God has designed us all for. This has been one of the greatest years of my life! Praise God for His truths and guidance that lead to abundance, freedoms, and promise lands!! One year and counting!! Glory to God!

"I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified." - 1 Corinthians 9:27

"You must be self-controlled and alert, to be able to pray." - 1 Peter 4:7

"But if you don't do well, sin is lying outside your door ready to attack. It wants to control you, but you must master it." - Genesis 4:7

STRiVE to THRiVE!

LIFE AT WARP SPEED!

The last 3 months have been going at warp speed that I've rarely had a chance to reply back to comments or post updates, but God is doing so much in the ministry and in my personal life that I'm eager to share. So keep your eyes open for the upcoming daily deluge of good news, progress reports, & updates, as well as mishaps & challenges that are all just a part of living this amazing obstacle course called life!!

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CREATED TO THRiVE!
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"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly." - Jesus (John 10:10)
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OH HOW I LOVE MY DOGS!

I've literally got dozens and dozens of renovation projects to tackle over the next two years, but replacing this particular section of drywall wasn't one of them!! Ahhhhhh & LOL in the same breath!

One of the GTD Dogz (Courage) has pretty bad separation anxiety, but has learned to cope with it by destroying things I value. It's our little game... I leave, she gets upset and destroys something I value (she rarely chooses any of her 20 dog toys or available cardboard boxes), then I return to her "surprise" for me, then I get upset, and then she looks at me with her puppy dog eyes and seems to say, "Now you know how I feel when you leave." It's really a wonderful game! Surprises, rollercoaster emotions, tension, forgiveness, unconditional love (she's mastered that one!).

I will add this project to the renovation list as well as an indestructible kennel for the dogs for when I leave the house. Hopefully Courage can put this talent to work when it's time to demolish the old kitchen, etc. Hahaha!

Thankful =)

So many good things (aka "God things") going on personally & in the ministry! ...loving life because of Jesus Christ =)


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HOMEOWNERSHIP... I'M LOVING IT!

Whether it's mowing the yard, paying the electric bill, replacing an old toilet, placing charcoal throughout to absorb the old musty smells, pulling up 25 year old carpet, treating for termites, setting up temporary usable areas, still unpacking boxes, making the monthly mortgage payment, strategizing two year's worth of renovations, figuring out where to park vehicles, planning to convert the garage into a workshop / gym / home office / laundry room, daydreaming about a place for people to visit AND a treehouse AND a zipline AND a fireman pool AND an indoor slide from the 2nd floor AND a place to play dodgeball AND an endless amount of ideas, seeking God & others for wisdom, looking on Pinterest for cool cost saving DIY ideas, receiving & collecting free used materials from family & friends, watching fixer upper shows, downloading helpful apps, reading home improvement articles, having a humble budget that forces creativity - resourcefulness - ingenuity - and faith driven prayers, having to ride the brakes on my immediate ambitions to give room for God to supernaturally work in His ways & His timing, and countless other thoughts, dreams, desires, and repair needs.... I'M THANKFUL, GRATEFUL, BLESSED BEYOND MEASURE, AND THOROUGHLY LOVING EVERY ASPECT OF BEING A STUART OF A HOME & PIECE OF LAND!! It could all be wiped out by a fire, tornado, or hurricane in under a minute, but none of that can extinguish the joy I authentically have on this day, during this hour, and in this moment. Nothing can take away the experience of the present-tense. The house doesn't own me. God owns me. I get to be a temporary caretaker of this house and this piece of land for however long or short it is, and 3 months into it, it is surprisingly one of the greatest blessings and joys I've ever experienced. I knew I would like it... I never knew I would love it this much! Had to share =)

The attached video was made for my homeowner's insurance a few weeks after purchasing the house. I had to leave shortly afterwards to run our summer camps in GA & TN so the renovations and work projects had to be paused (that's the hardest part when you're eager to make progress!).

Now I'm back home looking forward to splitting time between my fulltime job, my life responsibilities, my daily disciplines, and my house projects.

A FAVORITE VERSE...
- "Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment." - 1 Timothy 6:17

(I love that it's important to God that we experience His joy & His provisions that foster enjoyment as we journey through life. Any and every gift from God has the potential for personal enjoyment as long as our hope is in the Giver and not in the gift. The great challenge for all of us is to not put the gift above the Giver, and not to seek the Giver with the pretense to get the gifts.)

MUCH THANKS...
I can't thank the people involved in this purchase enough for the role they played! My heart overflows with eternal gratitude!

*Note: I keep Laurie's cats here. She lives with my parents, but her cats stay here with the dogs (AKA: The GTD Zoo haha!).

WE HAVE BEGUN UPLOADING THE FCD PICS =)

It has been a little more than a week since our fUntastic Adventure Trip with the Family Center on Deafness, and a few hundred pictures have been uploaded to our online photo album. Click the link below to relive some of the excitement!!

(More pics to come!)

https://goingthedistance.smugmug.com/2018-1/2018-Adv-Trip---FCD-HS-Students

HOME!

One of the best parts of being involved in this ministry is getting to meet so many incredible and high caliber people! We wish we could visit all of them at the end of each summer, but this year we were blessed to spend time with 3 dear friends and supporters of GTD. One family (the amazing Starner's) we got to visit a few weeks ago between events. The other 2 families we got to visit during our drive home over the past couple of days.

Thank you Josh & Tina (Knoxville, TN) and Russ & April (Tiger, GA) for your loving hospitality, friendship, quality time, rearranging your schedules, delicious meals, open doors, and EVEN GOING ABOVE & BEYOND TO ALLOW THE GTD DOGS INTO YOUR HOMES!!! You made the end of our summer just as sweet and special as the main parts of our summer! We are touched and blessed to call you friends, and to have you on the GTD team! We love you!! God bless you!

We made it back to Florida on Saturday night around 11pm. It was an impactful summer of ministry... glory to God!! =)

FCD ADVENTURE TRIP FINISHES STRONG! THANK YOU DONORS, VOLUNTEERS, LEADERS, STAFF, & DOGS!!

Our annual Adventure Trip with the Family Center on Deafness (FCD) got off to a stormy start (literally!), but finished strong with sunshiny weather, unforgettable adventures, and lifelong memories. Our profound thanks to our donors, volunteers, leaders, and staff along with the FCD staff & volunteers for impacting lives by serving others with your time, talents, and treasures. Ministry is a team sport. We can only win when we play as a team. And we honor each player on the team for the vital role they play in turning vacant time into eternal impact... using hard work and strategic planning to transform open space on a calendar into moments with unending value. And most importantly we praise God for fueling and enabling every aspect. We are profoundly thankful!!

THE HIGH LIFE!

Students and leaders from The Family Center on Deafness scaled one of our favorite slabs in the Cherokee National Forest of east TN. It was a great day of rock climbing & rappelling!!

A PERFECT DAY FOR A LIQUID ADVENTURE!

From a stormy Sunday to sunshiny Monday, the FCD students and leaders conquered bridge & cliff jumps along with the mighty Baby Falls yesterday. Students pushed themselves to overcome fears and establish new levels. Smiles and laughter was the norm throughout the day... It was perfect!

(FCD = The Family Center on Deafness)

ROW, ROW, ROW YOUR BOAT GENTLY DOWN THE STORM!

Rain or shine FCD was kicking bootay whitewater rafting on the Ocoee River yesterday!! Cold, but so much fun!!

FCD HAS ARRIVED!!!

The crew from The Family Center On Deafness (FCD) arrived safe & sound last night!! The fun has already begun!

EVER WONDER???

Ever wonder what we do between trips?

Sometimes we go recon new activity destinations within a 3-hour vicinity of our campsite.

Sometimes we do what we are doing now...
- laundry
- clean & prep for out next group
- make improvements and tend to any equipment maintenance issues (this week we are waterproofing our tent rainflies... have to do this every couple of years /// cleaning & organizing out vehicles /// cleaning & organizing the trailer /// adding solar lights to the kitchen area & showers)
- daily disciplines (working out, eating healthy, hydrating, great daily devotionals, and getting good sleep)
- checking out local things (we just discovered a warehouse supply store for farming equipment / rural living called "Rural King"... it's awesome!!)

Can't wait for our next group to arrive on Saturday!!! It's our 14-ish year of Adventure Trips with The Family Center on Deafness (FCD)!!! What a great tradition that we always look forward to!!!!

GREAT VOLUNTEERS ARE GAME CHANGERS!

We can't thank our SLAMMED volunteers enough for donating their time, talents, and treasure (they paid their own way to be involved!) to serve others and lighten our workload immensely!!! Having thoughtful, loving, fun, positive, self-sacrificing, capable, self-starting, Godly team players volunteer for 5 days is a game changer in this ministry! Summer is a marathon of labor intensive camp after camp, and these great people make it possible for us to "go the distance". They are our ATP (Answers To Prayer)!! God bless you guys! We already miss you =)

SLAMMED PICS UPLOADED!

Nearly 1000 pictures from our annual SLAMMED Adventure Trip have been uploaded to the GTD online photo album. Click this link to relive the moments! Download all the pics for free =)

SLAMMED PHOTO ALBUM LINK

CAME AS STRANGERS. LEFT AS FAMILY!

How good was this year's 23rd Annual GTD SLAMMED Adventure Trip?

Thirty-five individuals - many of them meeting for the first time - spent 5 days together building camp, working hard, jumping into water from cliffs & bridges, sliding over waterfalls, climbing rocks, rappelling down mountains, rafting whitewater, playing volleyball & camp games, sleeping in tents, singing during van rides, talking with each other, praying & seeking God daily, and so many other things.

Mind you that they did all this for 5 days with almost no access to cell phone or internet coverage.

The big question is, "How did they do?"

They thrived! They grew. They bonded. They discovered. They stretched to new levels. They created new lifelong memories. They made new lifelong friends. They laughed a lot. They overcame. They were refreshed. They were renewed. In the words of one participant, "When we came we didn't know anyone, but we are leaving as a family."

That's not to say that there weren't life threatening situations, flat tires, mishaps, scrapes, bruises, injuries, frustrations, delays, stresses, breakdowns, tears, disagreements, and similar challenges that make us all human. This isn't heaven. But those things were rare and didn't define our experience. They didn't last beyond a moment. They didn't overcome us or keep us stuck. In Christ, we overcame them all... and usually with an attitude of joy and laughter.

This trip was an instant classic! From start to finish God did what only God can do because we invited Him into every part and gave Him the room to work in our lives.

Group events are like an ice sculpture. They're amazing, awe-inspiring, beautiful, special, and a lot of hard work. But they are unique one-of-a-kind works of art created for that one moment in time. Although the ice will melt, the experience and memories will be savored forever.

Now we prepare to sculpt another piece of ice as our next group arrives in a few days.

Thank you Jesus for another God-awesome SLAMMED Adventure Trip!!

SLAMMED 2018

"RAPID RESPONSE"

What was everyone's response to rafting down whitewater rapids???

They loved it!!!!!!!!!

Rafting day on the Ocoee River was so much fun with this enthusiastic group of adventurers!

SLAMMED 2018

THE INDIAN "ROCKERS"!

We had a great and adventurous day rock climbing & rappelling on Friday with the young adult ministry from First Baptist Church of Indian Rocks. Rock on!

SLAMMED 2018

PRAY HARD; PLAY HARD!

I don't know of a stronger bond possible than the bond of Christ. Brotherhood and sisterhood authentically forged from a shared faith. It's even thicker than blood!

This is our daily devotional time together when we share what God is teaching us before we go play in God's amazing playground. This week we are reading Philippians. Great times =)

SLAMMED 2018

THAT'S MY NEPHEW!

Because simply sliding over or jumping off a waterfall isn't enough!

(just add a frisbee to make everything even better!)

Great catch Carson =)

SLAMMED 2018

BABY FALLS!!!

One of the best waterparks ever!!

Thanks God!

SLAMMED 2018

THE SLAMMED CREW HAS ARRIVED!

We have 35 campers that have arrived safe and sound to our remote group campsite in TN... 8 miles outside of cell phone range. They just finished setting up camp and eating dinner. Our 23rd Annual SLAMMED Adventure Trip is underway!!!

(Updates will be posted when we have access to cell phone coverage)

LAW BREAKER! ...ROUND HAY BALES OUTLAWED!!

We are back in TN and we came across this law breaker. Round hay bales have been outlawed in TN and 42 other states nationwide. Does anyone know why? 

Answer: Because the cows aren't getting 3 square meals per day!! (Hahahaha! Credit to Dennis McCormick)

JOIN US IN UTAH IN SEPTEMBER... ....FOR A TRIP OF A LIFETIME!!

Join GTD, Pastor Willy & Cheryl Rice, and Calvary Church of Clearwater for a 6 day trip of a lifetime to Zion National Park & Bryce National Park in Utah September 3-8, 2018 (just 2 months away!!).

This is a private trip GTD is running for Calvary that Pastor Willy has graciously allowed GTD to use a few spots to make publicly available to GTD's faithful adventurers.

We will be staying in an incredible oversized rental home at Zion Ponderosa and daily visiting Zion & Bryce National Parks (2 of the top National Parks in the nation).

One of our main (optional) destinations will be the iconic Narrows river hike that is featured in this month's Backpacker Magazine!!

I'm currently in TN running our summer camps so I won't be able to immediately respond to comments or questions, but the cost of the trip is $800/person plus airfare & meals. Your flight has to arrive at Las Vegas International Airport by 11am of Sept 3rd and depart from the same airport the morning of Sept 8th (feel free to extend your personal vacation before and/or after those timeframes).

For more details and to register through Calvary's online registration click here: https://calvary.us/hikeutah/

It's going to be AMAZING!!!

LOVE THY NEIGHBOR!

This is Ken, one of my awesome new neighbors and a fellow brother in Christ. The GTD truck is still up in TN and he thought I was still up there running summer camps so he came over to mow my yard at the new house simply out of the kindness and brotherly love in his heart. When I let him know I was back home he said he still wanted to mow the lawn and not to worry about the lawn when I go back up to TN. Wow, what a guy! My heart is full from such thoughtfulness. Neighborly kindness abounds over here and I hope to be that type of neighbor to my new neighbors in my new hood =)

VOLUNTEERS ARE THE ATP OF ANY MINISTRY!

Within the human body ATP (Adenosine triphosphate) "is the major energy currency of the cell, providing the energy for most of the energy-consuming activities of the cell." Without ATP virtually nothing gets done in the body.

Similarly, volunteers are the spiritual ATP (Answers To Prayers) for ministries (the Body of Christ). Without competent & capable volunteers virtually nothing gets done on a "cellular level" in any ministry.

GTD is so thankful and blessed to have had 8 fantastic volunteers (& 3 staff) over the past 2 weeks to help on our non-stop daily adventures!! 5 of the incredible volunteers are 15 years old (1 Timothy 4:12)!!

Our profound thanks and gratitude for these amazing ATP's (Answers To Prayers)!!!! Thank you Katherine, Katie, Tyler, Lucas, Jackson, Stacy, Jessica, Mark, Laurie, & Carson for your sacrifice, dedication, passion, and hard work that helped turn the vision of a God-awesome summer camp into a reality!! God bless you guys!

I can't wait to do it again!!

Boarding Flight

Boarding our cheap flights home ($42 each way!)... it was cheaper to fly home than to drive or even stay in TN camping for the next week between trips. Hoping to see the fireworks from above! Happy 4th!!