Figured now was as good of a time as ever to drop in and let everyone know what plans are under way for FSM this Fall.  I know it's not popular to take an entire month off from FSM on Wednesday nights, but it's given our FSM staff an opportunity to re-group and plan some big things for the upcoming Fall......it's going to be the best year yet @ FSM!  So here are a few things you'll want to mark your calendars for:


August 15th-  First official night of Sunday night High School worship @ 6pm (Surfer Night)
August 18th-  SEVIES PROMO @ 7pm for all FSM students going into 7th-12th grade (Nasty Night)
August 22nd- High School worship @ 6pm (College Game Day)
August 25th-  FSM Wednesday night worship for all students 5th-8th grade (PreTeen and Junior High) @    6:30 (College Game Day)
August 29th-  FSM High School worship @ 6pm (Support your school mascot)  We'll be unveiling the new    FSM mascot and you won't want to miss out!
October 22-23- FSM Fall Retreat for all students 7th-12th grade @ Mt. Lebanon Camp in Cedar Hill!


So we've got a little on the agenda already and you won't want to miss out.  There's so much more but if I told you now.....well I just won't.  We're excited about what God's already doing in your lives, and even more excited to see what He's going to do in your life through this next year @ FSM.  So make sure to mark your calendars....don't miss out.  We'll kick back off the week of August 15th and start off the best year of FSM we've had!


We want to hear from you so drop by our facebook, website, or send us a text....don't get too far away from us!  Have a good one!

It's been a while since I've been on here.  I figured today is as good as any to get back into the blogging groove!  It's been an interesting weekend.....one full of golf, which is never a bad thing!  We're gearing up for some exciting things coming up this summer in FSM, which kicks off with our end of school year lock-in on the last day of school.  Good stuff coming up!  


But in our staff meeting this morning I was reminded of 1 Corinthians 12.  I'd encourage you to take a look at it if you don't know what it talks about off the top of your head.  It's all about spiritual gifts.  It's all about SHARING in this ministry.  It really all boils down to the fact that God has blessed us with certain abilities that we can turn around and worship Him with.  To some He's given tons, and to others, not as much.  But to everyone, He's given something.  But that wasn't our challenge today in our FSM staff meeting.  Our challenge was this:  Find the gifts He's given you and perfect them.  Search for the things He hasn't given you, and perfect them too.


We get so obsessed with perfecting the gifts God has given us that we forget about everything else that's important.  So if God hasn't given you the gift of evangelism it's not your responsibility to spread His Word, right?  Ohhhhhh if only that were true.  I honestly believe He desires us to perfect what He's given us.....but what could we do for His Kingdom if we sought to perfect the gifts that we don't even have yet?  God's Kingdom is worth the work.  When we stop waiting on Him to give give give, and we just start doing......this world might actually have a shot @ change!


So today, take a look at what God has given you.....but don't be content standing still.  Move towards the person He desires you to be......be the person He created you to be.  Perfect the things that no one ever even thought you had, and use them for His glory!

Just a quick update on what's going on @ FSM tonight.  We're gearing up for a great night @ FSM.  We thought about throwing a tea party to boycott TAKS test but felt that might be a little much, so we've gone in a different direction!  Tonight we've got some great stuff planned.  We know the stress of TAKS tests are on all of our students and we're here to help.  So send your students tonight.....students, make sure you're here.  We have a couple of very special guests coming in to speak to us about what it means to live out our faith RIGHT NOW.


Brian and Patty Smith, parents of Laurren Smith will be bringing the message tonight.  For those of you who don't know, I'm a little stingy with the time I get each week with our students, so you can rest assure that tonight is special....we're really excited to here the testimony of a young girls faith that helped hold her family's faith strong in the midst of an impossible circumstance!  Hope to see you tonight @ FSM.


We'll end it off with a 'We strongly dislike TAKS test party' outside!

I've spent a little of the morning doing a little reflective thinking.....not too much.  I don't want to hurt myself.  But it's really quiet in this office....that doesn't happen around here much.  So I've spent some time on messages, and about half way through the message a great story popped into my head.  


I have a little guy in our church that I've become pretty good friends with.  He's about 4 years old....comes to our TEAM after school program.  He just so happens to be one of the cutest kids I've ever seen in my entire life!  He also just so happens to be black......so every time I get the chance I make sure I carve out a little time for this little man.  He never disappoints....he always has something ridiculous and funny to say.  Apparently it's just how 4 year olds work.  


So we're out playing in the grass one day after school and I started doing what I do best.....a little antagonism.  He didn't like it so he told me to stop.  But his way of telling me to stop was just a little different than I had ever heard.  He said, "I told you to stop......HEY SNICKA...I TOLD YOU TO STOP IT!"  I was a little stunned....4 years olds don't pronounce things perfectly all of the time so needless to say, I was interested in what he had just called me.  After about 5 minutes of conversation, I realized he really did call me Snicka, like the candy.  Don't ask me.


In my ever wondering mind, I can't help but think that story right there has spiritual application....I mean how could it not?  I get that feeling a lot.....I"m sitting in the middle of a conversation I have no business being a part of....I find myself flipping through channels and shows that aren't pushing me closer to the Lord....and I hear the soft whisper, I'm telling you to move!  Now my little friend was a little more adamant, he was a little louder, and he was very clear what he wanted from me.  But isn't God?  Honestly....how hard is it for you to know whether or not you're living your life as a sacrifice to Him?(Romans 12:1-2) I guess my question for the day is, How many times does God have to get in our face and tell us to stop and listen before we start to listen?  


Where are you Snicka?

So this morning I had to make a call for our TV service.....I know I know, you're feeling my pain already.  I waited around and was transferred an ungodly amount of times.  In the end, you guessed it, like all of you I was transferred to someone who couldn't understand me.....even worse than that....I had no clue what they were saying.  What a frustrating experience.  I've dealt with it year after year after year though.  It's not shock to me when my calls are transferred over seas....to be really honest with you, I have no problem with it.  The problem comes when our accents or language barrier is such a big deal that neither of us can communicate....doesn't that defeat the purpose of my call?


But the day of salvation arrived not too long back.....I bought my first Mac!  A beautiful Macbook Pro, 13 inch, brand new body style, all the works, and every program installed that you can imagine.  Can you sense the excitement?  Do you know what the selling point was for me?  It had nothing to do with the ease of running a Mac.  It really didn't have much to do with how much better and simpler Apple products are.  The selling point to me came when the salesman informed me that any time I have a question I can call their help hotline.....and I'll be transferred to AUSTIN, TX.  Someone who talks exactly like me....someone who understands me well.....and someone who has the same accent as I do!  


Now I'm not 'rich' or wealthy....I don't have tons of money to blow, but at that point, I didn't care what the price difference was....it was worth it.  I'd been transferred by Dell so many different times and frustrated by their workers so often that my call being transferred to someone I could clearly communicate with was priceless!  And the incredible part of all of this is.....it happens every day to me!


Scripture clearly says that the good I do, no matter how good it may be, is like dirty garbage rags in God's sight.  I can't clearly communicate with Him because of the language barrier....His perfection against my mess ups is a HUGE barrier!  But then came the blood of Jesus Christ!  Then His sacrifice showed up in the picture.....His grace, that mercy, and all of the love and forgiveness I could ever need walked in.  And now.....well, now I can speak His language.  Through Christ' blood I can communicate with my Savior.  


That may not seem like a big deal to you.....but to me....that's priceless.  That's why today, I choose Him.  I choose Him regardless of how tough it may be.  So let me ask you.....do you speak His language?  Or are you still trying to make yourself good enough?

Something stuck out to me yesterday at the end of the Master's golf tournament.  Anyone who watched the ending of that tournament is probably pretty clear on exactly what was so special.  It had nothing to do with Tiger, or the guys in the second place.  To be honest with you, I really wasn't even impressed by the trophy presentation or all of the fans.  Don't get me wrong, the golf was great, and I'm a huge Phil Mickelson fan.....but the greatest part of the day was hearing the champion of the tournament talk about family.  Maybe even more than that is the fact that he didn't have to say a word because his actions showed his heart.


Phil's wife has struggled with breast cancer this entire year.  So for her to finally be in the audience at one of his tournaments was a HUGE deal for him.  He talked about it all week.  He left practice, shut down interviews, and did everything he could to get home early each night to spend time with his family.  He learned what it meant to play with purpose.....he was playing for his family.....the love he had for his wife and kids this week was displayed through his commitment and actions throughout the entire tournament.


So who really cares about that, right?  I mean, it's golf, and there are probably only 2 of us that actually take time out of an incredibly beautiful Sunday afternoon to watch that.....I do!  But as I watched this man play for his family it really got me thinking......that's the story of our faith!  How could it not be?  We have something to live for.....we have purpose.  It's our decision whether or not we choose to be a part of it.  When the day is done and people go home with no hope, we have hope.  When others play and live for themselves, we have a purpose....something bigger than 'us.'  When the world asks us why we do what we do, we have an answer.  And when they look at the life we live, they know the reason we do what we do.


We are a people with purpose, hope, and faith.  In fact, this is what Scripture says about us:  "once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God....once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy from God."  So my encouragement to you today....use the PGA tour as a symbol of your faith today.  You can choose to live according to the calling God has placed on your life.....or you can walk away and live your own life apart from the God that has chosen to save you.  But without him, remember, 'You're no one.'


When I walk off of the course of life each day, my prayer is that I'll be able to give my efforts and actions to the Lord as an offering of worship.....isn't that what He wants?

I don't know about you, but today, I'm struggling.  I'm not even talking about spiritual things.....I'm physically trying to keep my eyes open.  What a draining weekend.....incredible....but draining!  I find myself naturally falling into the same old rut.  It's easy to do that, especially after a huge weekend like Easter.  Easter was good, but what's next?  We hit on this a little in our FSM worship service yesterday morning.

Just a quick update to remind everyone that our special Easter services begin tonight @ Fellowship Forney.  We'll host our annual Passover service with communion @ Fellowship Forney tonight @ 7pm.  You won't want to miss this incredible time of worship, communion, and remembering the sufferings of our Savior as we head into this Easter weekend.


That's all followed up by 3 special services this Sunday morning....8:00am, 9:30am, and 11:00am.  Make sure to mark your calendar and join us this Sunday morning.  FSM will host a special student ministry event this Sunday morning during our 9:30am worship service for all students 7th-12th grade....be sure to have them here for that.


We'll see you tonight!

You’d have to search for a pretty long time to find someone who isn’t remotely familiar with the Easter story.  Maybe that’s why church work can be so tough at times…..everyone already knows the answers.  I think maybe the big problem we face is the fact that that’s all we really know…..the answers.  Jesus’ brother James had a little something to say about that.  Maybe the words ‘faith without works is no faith at all’ ring a bell.  That’s right out of Scripture!

 

The point is knowing what’s right isn’t quite enough…..it never has been, we just convinced ourselves that it is.  We’ve been called to have faith with legs.  We’ve been called to a faith that lives and breaths.  Belief isn’t enough…..God expects effort, actions….something real.  So I thought today, on this day before our Easter services and thoughts begin, would be a great time to introduce a concept maybe you haven’t thought about in a while.  Maybe it’ll be what you need to get off of the faith couch and start living out exactly what we’ve been called to do.

 

Isaiah 53 is the perfect Easter story.  Have you ever read through it?  Take a minute and do just that.  I dare you to pick up that dusty ole’ Bible and turn to Isaiah 53.  It’s a perfect depiction of what Jesus Christ did….it walks us through His ministry on earth.  It talks about Easter like no other book in Scripture does.  The really cool thing…..it’s 100% accurate.  It tells us exactly what happened to Jesus Christ step by step.  But that’s not all…..how about the fact that it was written over 500 years before Jesus Christ was even born.

 

Have you stopped to think about that for a minute?  A book written hundreds of years before this man was even born, tells us exactly what would happen, word for word in the life of Christ.  That’s what the Easter story means to me today.  It means hope….it means this ‘faith’ I have is really no faith at all.  It reality.  It means I serve a living, breathing, active God not because of what He claimed to do and be….because of what He did .

 

Easter isn’t about the life and death of Jesus Christ….it’s about the fact that He did what God promised He would do hundreds of years before He even came.  He did what was promised in the first 5 chapters of Genesis.  He did what was promised to Israel over and over and over again.  It’s exciting that He just ‘woke up’ on the 3rd day and beat the heck out of death.  But what makes it more exciting is the fact that He promised He would do it.

 

If that doesn’t put your faith to work, God bless your heart.  So I dare you….read through Isaiah 53, compare it with history….compare it with the New Testament.  I live out my faith because I’ve seen Him live out His.